The Princess and the Sorcerer
by Shadow - Prince of Wolves
Summary: Okay, everyone! Chapter rewrites and updates currently underway. See chapter 21. Thank you to all! Recap: MozenrathOC. I suck at summaries. Check it out!
1. Another Arabian Night

Ok, folks – Here's the re-write of the first chapter. (I merged the original first three chapters as well)

Chapter One "Another Arabian Night"

_Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place_

_Where the caravan camels roam_

_Where they cut off your ear_

_If they don't like your face_

_It's barbaric, but hey, it's home_

_When the winds from the east_

_And the suns from the west _

_And the sand in the glass is right_

_Come on down, come on in_

_Let the magic begin_

_It's another Arabian night…_

The city of Agrabah was alive with activity, as usual. No monsters or maniacs were wreaking havoc today, for which Aladdin was very thankful. He was finally getting a day off from being the local hero. He even got to go on a date with Jasmine without it being interrupted.

"AHHH!" Well… almost.

Abu, Iago, Carpet, and Genie had started yet another food fight in the market place. As Aladdin went to break it up, a stray apple flew in Jasmine's direction. When it was only inches away from her face, it stopped and hung mid-air. It, then, floated off to the side of the street. Jasmine followed its path to a cloaked and hooded figure standing beside one of the merchant stands. A female hand reached out from a bulky sleeve, palm up, and the apple landed gently upon it. The hand raised the apple to the hood, and the figure took a bite from it.

"Uh, thanks," Jasmine said.

"You're welcome, Jasmine," the figure said.

The other hand, adorned with an emerald ring on the middle finger, reached up and pushed the hood back and off.

Jasmine looked at the young woman, curiously. She knew her, somehow. Something about her was very familiar.

The woman had long, rich brown hair that fell loosely down her back in strong waves. On her forehead was a gold band, in the center of which was set and unusual diamond-shaped jewel. The northern hemisphere of the jewel was deep sapphire color, while the southern hemisphere was rich violet shade. A similar jewel adorned the gold choker about her neck. Her smooth skin was lightly tanned and held none of the blemishes that her cloak suggested she should have. All of the aforementioned features served, what seemed to be, the sole purpose of enhancing the brightness of her unusually-colored amber eyes.

It was those eyes that sparked a memory in Jasmine's mind.

"Jade?" she asked, cautiously.

"I was hoping you hadn't forgotten me," the woman smiled.

Aladdin and the others were coming back over to Jasmine, when they saw the young woman with her. She looked to be Jasmine's age, give or take a year, with the same physical build.

By the way Jasmine was now embracing her, she seemed to have discovered a long-lost friend. Jasmine saw them coming and, teary-eyed, introduced.

"And you probably remember Iago," she said to Jade.

"How could I forget him?" Jade said, a grin playing around her lips.

"Princess Jade?" Iago asked.

"You have a good memory, Iago," Jade said.

The parrot fluttered over and perched on her shoulder.

"Where ya been, kid?" he asked, his voice a mix of wonder and worry.

"It's a long story."

"Tell us back at the palace," Jasmine said. "Father will want to hear as well, I'm sure."

They all went back to the palace, where the sultan greeted Jade like a long lost daughter.

"Oh, my dear, it fills my heart to see you alive," he said as he embraced her. "We feared the worst when we heard about your father and your kingdom." "Yes," Jade said sadly. "I was the only one to have gotten away, before the city was destroyed."

"How did that happen?" Genie asked.

"An evil sorcerer came and demanded that my father turn over the throne to him. Along with me. When my father refused, the sorcerer destroyed the city."

"Why did he want you?" Aladdin asked.

"He wanted my magic. Somehow he learned of it and he came after me."

Thoughts of Jafar jumped into everyone's mind. They told Jade about what had happened in Agrabah with the former grand vizier.

_In the palace, right here, lived a wicked vizier_

_The advisor to Sultan Hamed_

_And this part-time magician, this amateur seer_

_Wished his boss, the good Sultan, dead_

_He was charming and slick_

_But unspeakably sick_

_This despicable parasite_

_What a villain, boo hiss!_

_Further proof, dears, that this_

_Is another Arabian night…_

"Jade, you never cease to amaze me," Jasmine said. Her friend had levitated a bottle of wine over to her place at the table and refilled her glass. "Where did you learn that?"

"The king of Quirkistan," Jade explained. "He found out that I had some magical qualities a few years ago and taught me a few simple tricks, like levitating objects and some other simple enchantments." She fell silent. "I lived there for a while after I escaped from my city."

"You never told us how you escaped," the sultan said.

"I didn't do it alone," Jade said. "Someone helped me. He was the sorcerer's servant, I think. He told me that his master sent him to find me and bring me to him."

_Follow me to a place where incredible feats_

_Are routine every hour or so_

_Where enchantment runs rampant_

_Gets wild in the streets_

_Open sesame and here we go!_

_Pack your shield, pack your sword_

_You won't ever get bored_

_Though get beaten or gored you might_

_Call it mad, called it crazed_

_But let Allah be praised_

_It's another Arabian night…_

_**"Find her and bring her to me!" the sorcerer yelled at the young boy.**_

_**"Yes, Master," the child said. He ran off to find the princess.**_

_**He ran through the corridors of the palace. It seemed that every corner he rounded he found the palace guards fighting against his master's soldiers. He dodged around the battles and continued on.**_

_**His emerald ring glowed brighter, telling him that magic was getting closer.**_

_**He soon came upon a door that was slightly ajar. He opened it and peeked inside. It was dark, but his ring shone brightly now. As he held it out before him to use as a light, something caught his eye. He thought he saw something shine in one of the corners. As he got closer, he saw a shadow forming. Someone was in there. He walked over to the corner, and looked behind small pile of crates.**_

_**The young princess gasped and moved back against the wall. The tears on her face showed that she had been crying. The boy held a finger to his lips.**_

_**"Shhh..." He knelt down in front of her. "It's alright… I won't hurt you." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Come with me."**_

_**He stood and held a hand out to help her up. She looked at him confused. "But, you're the wizard's apprentice! I saw you before."**_

_**"I'm more his slave than anything," the boy said. "I know what he plans to do with you. I won't let you suffer the same fate as me." He gave her a reassuring look. "Trust me."**_

_**Jade took his hand and stood. She followed the boy out of the storage room. Seeing him in the light, he was quite handsome. Perhaps a couple years older than with long, thick ebony hair, that hung about his pale face in loose curls. His eyes were deep, black pools that seemed to hold cares far too great for his young age. He was disturbingly thin – as though he had missed too many meals.**_

_**He led her through the palace. Soon, they came across two of the wizard's soldiers. The boy told Jade to stay around the corner as he went to talk to them.**_

_**"Have you found the princess, yet?" he asked. They shook their heads. "Well, get moving, then! The master will blast you to pieces if you don't find her!" He pointed down another corridor. "Go that way!" he ordered. They undead guards obeyed.**_

_**Once they were gone, he motioned to Jade to follow. She followed the young slave to the kitchens, where they escaped the palace through a back door. They ran through the gardens and out into the city. A patrol of soldiers spotted them before they could get any further. They moved in to take the children prisoner.**_

_**The boy sent out a magic blast at the leader, blowing the soldier apart. He grabbed its sword as it fell to the ground. Jade was in shock.**_

_**"That's why I'm his slave," the boy said. "I'm a sorcerer, too. He kidnapped me six years ago."**_

_**The other soldiers attacked. The boy used the sword to fend them off. His skill with the blade was incredible. He cut down several of the soldiers and blasted two more.**_

_**"Where did you learn…?" Jade started to ask.**_

_**"I grew up in a palace," the boy said. "My father is the Sultan's grand vizier. The guards taught me how to fight." He grabbed her arm. "Come on! More will be on the way!"**_

_**He got her to the edge of the city. Spotting a peddler's horse and cart he took the princess to it. He put her in. "Get out of here as fast as you can!" He took off his ring and put it on her finger. "Take this – it will protect you. It glows when strong magic is close. It will also suppress your powers so that they can't be detected. My master will never be able to find you as long as you wear it."**_

_**"Thank you so much," she said. She hugged him tightly. "I won't forget what you've done."**_

_**"Good luck, Princess," he said. "Now hurry!"**_

_**With that, she raced the horse out of the city and into the desert.**_

"I never saw that boy again," Jade said. "I don't know what the sorcerer did to him. I'm sure he found out that he helped me."

"Wow…" Aladdin said in awe. "That was brave of him, to go against his own master like that."

"What was his name?" Jasmine asked.

"He never told me," Jade said silently. "I was going to ask him, but I never got the chance." She was quiet for a moment, twisting the ring on her finger. "I'm sure I'll never know who he was. He must be dead by now - especially if his master found out."

The others saw that she was troubled by this and attempted to change the subject. Jade excused herself and retired to her room. She was exhausted and hoped that a good night's sleep would help her forget about the boy for a while.

_Oh, I come from a land where intrigue is in style _

_And adventure is status quo_

_Where they hack off your lips _

_If they don't like your smile_

_It's the law, did I make it? No!_

_See the dervishes dance in ridiculous prance_

_Then romance to your hearts delight_

_Come on down, stop on by_

_Hop a carpet and fly _

_To another Arabian night…_

The vase shattered in mid-air. The pieces fell to the floor broke even further.

"Again, Xerxes!" the sorcerer yelled.

The little eel grabbed another vase with his tale and hurled it into the air. He didn't see why his master needed to practice hitting targets, but he wasn't going to ask. If it kept him from getting that gloved hand wrapped around his throat for one reason or another, he was fine with it.

The sorcerer hit the target, then another. Then another. Xerxes was running low on ammunition. He threw the last vase. His master hit that one, too.

"That last one, Master," the eel said.

"Alright, I think that's enough for today anyway," came a reply.

Mozenrath panted heavily. That took more out of him than he thought it would.

_Oh well_, he thought. _Maybe I'll feel better after dinner_. He turned to leave the room. Xerxes flew down and wrapped himself around his master's shoulders. Xerxes noticed that Mozenrath looked troubled. He decided to risk asking why.

"Master troubled?" he said in his usual broken speech.

"No!" Mozenrath snapped. "I'm fine. Why?"

"Master look troubled," replied the familiar. "Master act strange for past few days."

"I'm fine Xerxes," Mozenrath said, a bit more gently. He knew Xerxes was just looking out for him. "I'm just tired is all. It's the gauntlet…" He drifted off in thought.

Xerxes didn't say another word. He stayed wrapped about Mozenrath's shoulders until they reached the young sorcerer's bedchamber. Once there, Xerxes flew over to his little bed in the corner of the room. Mozenrath sat down at the black desk a few feet away. He conjured-up a simple dinner and ate quietly. Xerxes watched him from his curled up position on his bed. Mozenrath saw his familiar watching him and tossed a piece of apple to him. Xerxes munched on the fruit as Mozenrath poured himself a glass of wine. After he finished his dinner, Mozenrath went over to his bed, discarding his turban, cloak and mantle to the floor in an uncaring manner. Not bothering to remove his boots, he collapsed onto the large, soft pillows. Hopefully he would feel better tomorrow. He closed his eyes and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Xerxes watched his sleeping master for a while. His sleep was restless and he cried out many times. The little eel slithered over to him. He could hear him muttering something. Like he was talking to someone in his dreams.

Who? Xerxes thought.

The answer came in the form of a loud scream from his master, "DESTANE!"

The force of the cry just about hurled little Xerxes across the room. He slunk back from Mozenrath, afraid of another outcry. Mozenrath began muttering audibly again.

"No… stop… please, Master… it wasn't my fault… I didn't… I didn't mean to… Master, please, I did nothing… nothing wrong… please… stop…"

So that was it. He was dreaming about the maltreatment that he received from the old sorcerer. It still haunted his dreams.

Mozenrath suddenly shot straight up in his bed. His pale features were ghostly pale now. Sweat drenched his face and ebony hair. The look on his face was one of pure terror. He looked at Xerxes who was floating next to him, just staring.

"What!" the necromancer snapped.

"Master have nightmare again," Xerxes said. For once it wasn't a question. "Master frightened."

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Mozenrath yelled. He backhanded his familiar, sending him clear across the room into the wall. Xerxes looked at the young sorcerer with hurt written all over his face. Mozenrath didn't notice though. He just fell back against the pillows and into a dreamless sleep.

_Arabian nights_

_Like Arabian days_

_More often than not_

_Are hotter than hot _

_in a lot of good ways_

_Arabian nights_

'_Neath Arabian moons_

_A fool off his guard_

_Could fall and fall hard_

_Out there on the dunes…_

Mozenrath awoke early the next morning. His head was pounding. He closed his eyes to block out the light and rubbed his temple.

"Xerxes!" he called.

The little eel zipped over to him, the previous night's abuse apparently forgotten. "Yes, Master?"

"Go fetch one of my potions. My head hurts like Hell," the sorcerer said.

Xerxes left the room to get the potion. Mozenrath opened his eyes and immediately wished that he hadn't. He put his hand over his eyes. Why did he wake up today?

"Master?"

He removed his hand. Xerxes was floating in front of him, a small vile hanging from his mouth. Mozenrath took the vile from him. He removed the stopper and brought it to his lips. The greenish fluid washed down his throat. He wiped his mouth with his hand and tossed the container back to Xerxes, who caught it between his teeth.

Mozenrath threw back the covers on his bed and stood. He picked up his cloak and turban from where he dropped them on the floor the previous night and threw them on as he walked out of the room, Xerxes trailing closely behind.

The sorcerer entered his throne room. He plopped down onto his throne, one leg draped over one of the arms. He rested his elbow on the opposite arm and leaned his head back against the soft, blue cushions. His head was starting to feel better already.

"What did Master dream last night?" Xerxes asked.

Mozenrath opened his eyes and looked at his familiar. "It was nothing, Xerxes."

"But, Master scream," the eel said. "Master have nightmare…"

"It was not a nightmare, Xerxes," Mozenrath said. "… It was a memory…"

"Bad?"

"Obviously…" Mozenrath trailed off.

Young Mozenrath made his way to the palace. As he rounded a corner, a patrol of mamluks jumped him. Two of them grabbed him by the arms and they began dragging off.

"Let go of me!" the boy shouted.

They weren't listening. They dragged him off to the palace, where Destane was waiting. If looks could kill, young Mozenrath would have been dead three times over. The mamluks dropped him at the sorcerer's feet.

The child looked up at his master, his fear clearly etched on his face. Destane reached down and grabbed the boy by his hair and pulled him roughly to his feet.

"You betrayed me, Mozenrath!" he hissed. "I saw you… you helped her escape!"

"No!" the boy defended. "I didn't do anything… I would never…" He was thrown to the ground.

"Don't lie to me, boy!" the dark lord growled. "I saw you with my own eyes! You thought you were being clever, but you made one mistake… I know when you use your magic! I felt it from the palace. And the princess does not possess such power."

"No…" the boy didn't know what to do now.

"Where is she, boy?" Destane roared, striking Mozenrath with the back of hand.

"You'll _never_ find her!" He was struck again, but bravely shook it off. "She's shielded from you forever." He gave his master a sneering grin. "She's wearing my ring."

"Clever," the old wizard said, almost impressed. "A power-suppressing spell, eh? Not bad Mozenrath. Perhaps I've underestimated you." Destane mounted an awaiting horse. "I hope you have enough strength for the journey home." He turned to the mamluks. "Bind him."

One of the undead guards tied a rope around the boy's wrists. Destane held onto the other end of the rope. He started the horse forward and quickly rode through the remains of the city, Mozenrath running along behind. The boy tripped and fell face first to the ground. Destane yanked the rope as the boy attempted to stand, causing the child to fall again. Mozenrath stood and looked at his master, tears threatening to show. Destane glared at his young apprentice and started his horse again. For hours they went like this through the desert. Mozenrath tripped and fell many times over the rocks and sand dunes, bruising his face and body. But, Destane refused to let up. Every time the boy fell, a mamluks whipped him until he stood.

_A contemptible skunk _

_Was this counterfeit "Unc" _

_But Mozenrath he led, alas__1_

_On a journey insane _

_Through forbidden terrain _

_To a desolate mountain pass _

_And the trip that they had _

_Was so bad for our lad _

_That he gradually got uptight _

_And suspected – guess what? _

_This was possibly not _

_Just another Arabian night…_

Their journey did not end until they reached the Land of the Black Sand. Destane had the mamluks carry the boy into the citadel.

"Bring him to the dungeons," Destane ordered.

Young Mozenrath was taken down to the dungeons, where the mamluks dropped him to the cold stone floor. He managed to raise his head, slightly, to look at his master. Immediately, he wished he had not. He had been thrown into the dungeons before, as a punishment for the slightest infraction, but now Destane looked as though he wanted to kill the boy.

The old sorcerer grabbed a whip from one of the mamluks and stood over the boy. Mozenrath tried one last time to beg for mercy.

"Please, Master…" he didn't believe he was saying that.

Destane refused to listen and brought the whip down on the child's back. Mozenrath screamed. Over and over Destane beat him, more than usual.

Mozenrath's cries echoed throughout the citadel, reaching the ears of a tiny creature, locked up in the boy's room. The baby eel slithered over to the door, grabbing the handle in its teeth. It pulled as hard as it could, but could not get the door to open. It looked around. The window was open! Of course - Mozenrath always left it open in case of emergencies. The eel flew out the window and entered the citadel again through the window of the throne room.

Mozenrath could barely move by the time Destane let up. The only sounds coming from the boy were short gasps and coughs as he tried to breathe. He knew Destane meant to kill him now. He tried again to plead for his life.

"Master….please… stop…" He coughed to loosen the blood filling his throat. As it poured over his lips, the boy managed to grab the hem of Destane's robes. "Please, Master… please… forgive me…"

Destane kicked the boy's chest, sending him into another fit of coughs. "Throw him in a cell," he ordered. The mamluks picked the boy up and dragged him into an open cell. They chained him to a wall and stepped back as Destane came forward. He knelt down in front of the boy and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at him. The pain and fear in the child's eyes did not sway the old man for a second.

"Maybe next time, you'll think about the consequences before you try to play hero again," he hissed. "Maybe you'll think before you betray me again." He shoved the boy's head against the wall and stood. He turned to the mamluks. "Go find that blasted little pet of his." Mozenrath's eyes grew wide as he looked at Destane. "Oh, don't think I didn't know you were harboring that little escapee. He'll be back in my laboratory by tomorrow. With you unable to serve me at present, I'll need him again for my experiments."

"NO!" Mozenrath screamed. "Leave Xerxes alone!" He didn't care that Destane was ready to kill him, but he didn't want his only friend to die, too. He was only a baby.

"You should be concerned about your own life," Destane said. "Being as it may not last much longer."

With that, the sorcerer and his guards left the cell, locking the door. Mozenrath heard their footsteps grow fainter until they were gone all together. He hung his head, defeated. He wished his parents were here. Even his grandfather stayed away from Destane, fearing for Mozenrath's life. That was the key to Destane's power – fear. That was how he kept the most powerful sorcerer's at bay. He threatened what they held most dear, knowing that they would never risk it by going against him.

Mozenrath felt his body growing weaker. His eyes became heavy and closed of the own accord. His head sank back against the cold, stone wall and soon he was unconscious.

_What a room, what a stink _

_This is doom, don't you think? _

_As the hours of the night crawl past _

_You've got rats in your cell _

_But you'll live with the smell _

_Till the dawn, when you'll breathe your last _

_Every tick of the clock _

_Says get set for the block _

_And the chock of your awful plight _

_You should sleep, but you don't _

_'Cause you know that you won't _

_See another Arabian night…_


	2. Jade's Bargain

Chapter Four "Jade's Bargain"

Mozenrath snapped out of his reverie. He didn't want to think about the rest. He switched to sitting cross-legged on his throne.

"Maybe we should do something, Xerxes," he said. "Any ideas?"

The eel looked up. "Destroy Aladdin?" he suggested.

Mozenrath smirked. "Heck… why not…"

He stood. Xerxes took his place around his master's shoulders. Mozenrath whirled his cloak around them and the two disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Jade, Jasmine, and Aladdin rode through the streets of Agrabah. Jade had wanted to go horseback riding through the city because it had been so long since she had seen it. So Aladdin and Jasmine offered her their company.

As they rode around the city, Jade couldn't help but notice the tender looks passing between her two companions. She felt a pang of jealousy at her friend's good fortune. Aladdin may not have been a prince, but he was very handsome, kind, funny, and seemed to care about Jasmine a great deal. Jade hoped that she could find someone like that someday.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard someone scream. People were running as fast as they could down the street.

"Mamluks!" they heard a woman shout.

Aladdin and Jasmine looked at each other. "Mozenrath…"

The three riders galloped up the street. The undead guards were destroying everything in sight. Aladdin grabbed a post from one of the merchant stands and, using it like a jousting lance; he rode through the group of mamluks that were advancing towards him. Being on horseback gave the three an advantage over the mamluks. Soon, the undead body parts were scrambling all over the place, trying to put themselves back together.

"Now, where's Mozenrath?" Jasmine said.

"Hahahahaha…" came a reply. "Right above you, Princess!"

They looked up.

Sitting atop one of the buildings was Mozenrath. His gauntlet-covered hand rested on his right knee as his left leg dangled over the side of the roof. Xerxes swam around him, chuckling.

"What do you want now, Mozenrath?" Aladdin said.

Mozenrath continued laughing. "I was rather bored today, Aladdin. So, I decided to amuse myself by destroying Agrabah!" He noticed Jade and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well, Xerxes," he said quietly to his familiar. "What have we here?" He disappeared. The others looked around for him.

Jade gasped. The necromancer had reappeared, sitting on the merchant stand beside her, holding her horse's reins. The look he was giving her was unnerving.

"And who might you be?" he asked in a voice dripping with false charm.

"…P-princess Jade…" Jade answered. She was thoroughly frightened by this man.

Mozenrath continued to stare at her, not saying a word. He pulled on the reins in his hand, bringing her horse forward. The princess and the sorcerer were now face to face. He grinned maliciously at her. Reaching out with his free hand, he stroked her cheek. His hand found its way to the back of her neck and he pulled her closer to him. Jade was to scared to move away. When Mozenrath's lips brushed against hers, she regained her senses and struggled against him. Mozenrath kissed her savagely; the pressure on the back of her neck increased as she tried to get away from him.

The horse was getting anxious as she felt Jade struggling. Mozenrath released Jade and the horse's reins at the same time. The frightened horse darted away from the necromancer. The sudden action, combined with Jade's shock of what just happened, caused the princess to lose her balance and fall from her mount. She landed with a sickening thud. Jasmine and Aladdin ran to her.

Mozenrath watched them, and nearly fell from his perch from laughing so hard.

"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked her friend as they helped Jade sit up.

"I think so…" Jade said. "I'm just a little shaken up." She looked at the sorcerer and his familiar, who were still laughing over what had happened. "So, that's Mozenrath?" she said to Jasmine. Jasmine nodded. "Is he always this charming or am I just lucky?" she asked sarcastically.

Aladdin and Jasmine helped her up. Over Mozenrath and Xerxes's laughter, they heard rushing footsteps. Rasoul and the palace guards had arrived, followed by Genie, Abu, Carpet, and Iago.

"What has that warped wizard done this time?" Genie asked Aladdin, seeing Mozenrath holding his sides.

Aladdin told him and the others what had happened.

"Why you lousy, no good scoundrel!" Rasoul shouted at Mozenrath as he charged at him. The sorcerer vanished as Rasoul brought his sword down on him.

"Is that the best you can do, Captain?" Mozenrath said as he reappeared on an awning above an apple stand on the other side of the street.

"How dare you insult a princess in such a manner!" the captain shouted at the boy.

"Oh, come now," Mozenrath chuckled. "It was all in good fun."

Xerxes swam up behind his master and snickered, "Good fun, good fun. Hehehehe…"

"Well… now that the fun is over… back to taking over Agrabah!" Mozenrath sent a powerful blast at the group before him. Everyone jumped out of the way. Genie, decked out in a full cavalry uniform, charged at the sorcerer. He didn't get very far, as Mozenrath trapped him in a set of magic proof manacles. As Genie struggled to get free, Aladdin, on Carpet, flew in behind Mozenrath. Mozenrath sensed him coming and turned just as Aladdin was three feet away from him and blasted him off of the rug.

Jade surveyed the scene around her. Xerxes was fighting with Abu, Jasmine was tending to Aladdin, and Genie was still bound in the manacles. The mamluks had managed to pull themselves back together and were fighting (and beating) Rasoul and the guards and Iago was hiding behind her. She looked up and saw Mozenrath, who was watching the scene as well. He began to laugh again. The situation was looking hopeless for Aladdin and company.

"Agrabah is mine!" he shouted. "Good bye, Aladdin!"

He raised the gauntleted hand over his head. It began to glow a furious shade of red. Aladdin and the others froze. This was it… Mozenrath was going to win…

"NO!" Jade shouted.

She sent a blast of her own magic at Mozenrath. It hit the necromancer and sent him into the wall. It wasn't that it was a strong blast; it just caught him off guard. Mozenrath stood and glared at Jade, teeth bared, eyes narrowed. He was ticked to say the least. He raised his gauntlet once more and pointed it at Jade.

"Very stupid, Your Highness!" he growled. He sent a blast in her direction. She dodged to the side. This continued until she was very close to him. He sent one final blast at her and she ducked. The shot went over her and hit one of the stands.

Jade stayed on her knees at Mozenrath's feet. She gripped the hem of his cloak in her hands. Mozenrath starred down at her. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading.

"You collect magic don't you?" Jade asked. Mozenrath said nothing. "Jasmine and Aladdin told me you collect anything magical. Right?" Mozenrath nodded. "Add me to your collection then."

Everything around them stopped. Everyone stared at Jade, unable to believe what they just heard. Even Mozenrath was surprised. "What?" he asked.

"If you promise not to harm my friends and the rest of Agrabah… I'll be your slave, and you can do whatever you want with my magic."

"Jade, no!" Jasmine said. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm not going to lose what's left of my family and friends, Jasmine!" Jade said. "I can't let it happen again… not when I can try to prevent it." She turned back to Mozenrath. "So is it a deal? My freedom and my magic for the safety of Agrabah?"

Mozenrath looked thoughtful. "Hmmm…" he thought. "Interesting proposition…" He thought for one moment longer. "Very well then," he said. "It's a deal."

He held out his hand to shake on it. Jade took his hand hesitantly. The glove covered hand closed around her hand tightly. She and the gauntlet began to glow a shade of blue. She felt her magic being drained from her body. She looked the sorcerer in the eye, determined not to show him any fear. Soon, the light around her began to die away. Mozenrath released her hand and she fell on all fours in front of him. She couldn't believe how weak she felt. She could barely lift her head to look at him.

Mozenrath reached down and grabbed her arm in a vice grip. She hissed in pain as he pulled her to her feet. Their eyes met and Jade was scared once again. He smirked at her. The look he gave her distinctly said 'you're mine now, princess.'

"Xerxes!" he called over his shoulder. "Come. We're leaving!" Xerxes swam over to his master and wrapped himself around his shoulders. He too grinned evilly at Jade, chuckling through his teeth. Mozenrath held Jade tightly against him. He turned one last sly grin at Aladdin and the others, and then the three disappeared.

Aladdin and the others were frozen with shock and disbelief. Jasmine began crying and gained everyone's attention. Aladdin put his arms around her and held her tightly as everyone else gathered around and tried to console the princess.

Mozenrath, Xerxes, and Jade reappeared in the Citadel. Mozenrath released his prisoner and she fell to the floor. She looked up at the necromancer. Her eyes followed him as he made his way to his throne and sat down, one leg swung over the arm of the ornate chair. He stared at the princess, as if deciding what to do with her. Xerxes floated at his master's side, looking from the sorcerer to the princess and back.

"Well… let me see…" Mozenrath said, breaking the eerie silence. "What should I have you do first?" He looked at Xerxes. "Do you have any suggestions, Xerxes?"

"Scrub floors?" Xerxes hissed. "Laundry? Clean store rooms?"

Mozenrath laughed aloud as Xerxes rambled off all kinds of chores for Jade to do. Jade felt her face turn red, completely humiliated.

"Well, there's plenty of time for all of that, Xerxes," Mozenrath chuckled. "But, the first thing the princess can do…" he turned his gaze toward Jade as he spoke, "… is make me some dinner." He smirked. He snapped his fingers and a mamluk appeared. "He will show you where the kitchen is." Mozenrath said. "Dinner is to be ready by seven o'clock. You have two hours. That should be enough time to come up with something. Now go."

Jade stood and only nodded. She followed the mamluk out of the throne room. It let her down several corridors and two flights of stairs and into the kitchen. As soon as she was in the room, the mamluk stepped out and stood guard outside the door.

Jade sighed. At least her first job was something she was comfortable with. She had been cooking her own meals for several years now, surely she could make something that brute would enjoy. She looked around the kitchen looking for some ideas.

Xerxes came into the kitchen. He smelled something good cooking on his way down to get Jade. It was almost seven o' clock. Mozenrath would be expecting his meal right on time. He saw Jade place a wine glass on the tray with the plate of food and wine bottle. Xerxes floated over to her, startling her.

"Food ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Jade said. "So where do I take this?"

"Master eat in bedroom," Xerxes said. He swam over to the door. "Follow."

Jade followed the familiar to Mozenrath's bedchamber, which lay in one of the towers. Xerxes opened the door for her and Jade carried the food tray into the chamber. She looked around. It was a large room and was decorated much like the rest of the citadel: dark blue curtains hung from the rods above the bed, most of the furniture was black, black and blue curtains hung around the doorway to the balcony. Blue and black rugs with gold lining covered the floor, there were spell books everywhere. The room was lit by ebony candelabras that sat on the tables and hung on the walls, giving the room an eerie glow.

Mozenrath was lounging on the large bed, reading through one of his many spell books. For a moment he didn't say anything, making Jade more uncomfortable than she already was. Then he looked up at her.

"Place it on the desk," he said, turning his attention back to his book.

Jade did as she was told and place the tray on the black desk in the far corner of the room. Mozenrath's eyes followed her. He stood and walked over to the desk. Instead of sitting down, he just stood there. Jade realized that he was waiting for her to pull the chair out for him. So she did. He smirked at her and sat down, whirling his cape over the back of the chair.

"Thank you," he mocked.

'_Arrogant bastard,_' Jade thought. She turned and was about to leave the room…

"I don't recall telling you that you could leave, princess," Mozenrath said, not turning to look at her. "Did I say she could leave, Xerxes?"

"No… Master no say," the eel replied.

They were all silent after that. Mozenrath continued eating his dinner, occasionally throwing a piece of food to Xerxes.

"I must admit, princess," Mozenrath said, "You are an excellent cook."

"T-thank you," Jade said softly. She had not expected a compliment from him.

Mozenrath soon finished, leaving nothing on the plate. He finished his glass of wine as well. Then he fixed his gaze on Jade, who was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. The look he gave her was very similar to the one he gave her earlier that day… right before he kissed her in the market place… Jade shuddered.

"I know what you can do for me now," he grinned.

"W-what?" Jade asked, apprehensively.

Not taking his eyes from her, he spoke to Xerxes. "Xerxes… find somewhere else to sleep tonight…"


	3. You Raise Me Up

Chapter Five "You Raise Me Up"

Jade couldn't fall asleep. She was extremely tired, but the pain in her body was too much. Silent tears continued to stream down her face as she thought about what had just happened. This incident with Mozenrath was far from what she had wanted. She had always dreamed that her first experience would be a beautiful and tender one with the man she loved. But instead, a man she knew almost nothing about had taken her innocence from her forcefully. There was another dream gone… if she ever got away from Mozenrath, what man would ever want to marry her?

She looked up at Mozenrath. She heard the pattern of his breathing become less rough and shallower. She looked at his face. He looked so peaceful now, not at all like the brutal man who had just raped her only moments ago. The frown lines were gone, his eyes were lightly closed, his lips softly parted in slumber. His long ebony curls fell around his pale face. He looked so handsome now…

She snapped out of these thoughts immediately as she remembered that this was the man who **had** raped her! She feared that this was possibly not the last time that he would either.

The pain was starting to dull now. Carefully, so as not to wake the sorcerer, she slid out of Mozenrath's embrace and moved over to the other side of the bed. Now at a safe distance from him, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Jade awoke the next morning to Mozenrath raining soft kisses over the back of her shoulder and the side of her neck. She tried to shrug him off, but he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her onto her chest, pinning her to the mattress. He leaned over her and brushed her hair back from her ear. "Good morning, princess," he drawled. "Did you sleep well? _I_ did."

"I'm sure…" Jade muttered. She felt his gloved hand running up her right side and around to her front… "Get off of me!"

She managed to throw him off of her. She turned around swiftly and slapped him across the face. Her hand had left a furious red mark on his cheek.

"My… we're a bit feisty this morning," Mozenrath said, rubbing his face. _Damn! That girl can hit hard!_

"I'm usually a grouch in the mornings," Jade replied.

"I'll have to do something about that," Mozenrath thought aloud.

He got up from the bed, throwing his robe on. As he tied the sash, he looked back at Jade and smiled devilishly. She sat up in the bed, using the sheets to cover her front.

"Pitiful attempt at modesty, princess," he said. "Come with me." Jade didn't move. "Well? Oh, fine…" He pointed a gloved finger at her and she was instantly back in her clothes. "Now, follow me."

Jade stood and followed him into the adjoining room. When she saw that they were in the bathroom, she got an idea of what her next chore would be…

As Mozenrath discarded his robe, Jade averted her eyes from him. He saw this and laughed. He stepped into the large octagon-shaped tub in the center of the room and sank into the warm water. He sighed and looked back at Jade, who was turning redder by the minute.

"Well… get over here."

Jade came to side of the tub and knelt down beside it. Mozenrath pointed to the cake of soap on the edge of the tub, a silent indication for her to pick it up. Jade picked up the soap. Mozenrath closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall of the tub. Jade dipped the soap into the water and rubbed it awkwardly across his surprisingly muscular back. After working up a good lather, she put the soap down, and then began massaging it into his skin. Mozenrath looked at her as she began washing his hair.

"That feels wonderful, princess," he said as he relaxed into the feel of her fingers softly massaging his scalp.

Jade ignored him and rinsed his hair. "There… you're clean," she said gruffly.

"Thank you," he grinned at her.

Jade watched as Mozenrath sank under the water before heaving himself out of the tub in a rush of flesh and water. He stood before her, naked and dripping. She grabbed a towel and handed it to him, but he didn't take it. Instead, he stepped out of the tub and stood there, his arms folded over his chest, looking at her.

"You're unbelievable…" Jade muttered, as she unfolded the towel. The necromancer smirked as the princess made quick, hard swipes down his body, drying him off. Once he was completely dry, she looked at him. "Do you want me to dress you next?"

"No… I can take care of that myself." With a snap of his fingers, he was fully dressed in his usual deep blue robes. He stepped towards her. Taking her shoulders in his hands, he pressed his lips to hers. "Thank you very much, my dear."

"You're not welcome," Jade replied.

The two of them disappeared from the bathroom and reappeared in the throne room. Jade looked around and when her eyes came to rest on the throne, she smiled slightly. Mozenrath, who had his back to the throne, turned to see what she was smiling at. He rolled his eyes.

Xerxes was curled up in a little ball, fast asleep on the ornate chair. Mozenrath smiled in spite of himself and walked over to the throne. He noticed that Xerxes was shivering. He picked up the sleeping eel and held him in his arms, as one would an infant. Xerxes awoke and went into a coughing fit. Mozenrath sat down on the throne and held Xerxes tightly to his chest. He had to admit, he always did have a soft spot for the tiny creature.

"Did you catch a cold, Xerxes?" he chuckled, once the coughing had ceased. The little eel looked up at his master and nodded weakly.

Mozenrath turned serious. It wasn't good for Xerxes to get any type of illness. The tiny creature had hardly any strength to tough it out. That had been Destane's doing. Every experiment he used Xerxes in resulted in the eel growing weaker and more vulnerable to catching a disease of some kind. The last time Xerxes got sick he almost died.

The necromancer stroked the eel's fins, a concerned look on his face. He looked up. Jade was looking at him, surprised by the tender scene before her. He had forgotten that she was in the room. He sneered at her and snapped his fingers. A mamluk appeared beside Jade.

"Find some chores for her to do," he ordered. "I believe the east wing needs cleaning."

Jade watched as Mozenrath, still holding Xerxes, stood up from the throne and disappeared. Jade followed the mamluk to the east wing. Other mamluks were in the corridor, mopping the floors and scrubbing down the walls. They saw her, dropped what they were doing and left, leaving the mops and brushes for her.

"Even undead, men are jerks…" she sighed. She picked up one of the mops and finished what the mamluks had started.

Mozenrath laid Xerxes down on his bed, pulling a blanket up over him. He stroked the little eel's head gently. Xerxes shuddered under the covers. He looked up at his master and gave a weak little smile. Mozenrath tried to smile back, but he was too worried.

He was hard on Xerxes, but it hadn't always been that way. There was a time, when they were younger, that Mozenrath would never have thought of hurting his familiar the way he did now…

The baby eel was being used in Destane's experiments. One day, after Destane had left the laboratory, Mozenrath was cleaning up the place when he saw how badly ill the eel was. He stole the infant from its cage and hurried him up to his bedroom. For months, he was able to hide him without his master knowing.

The baby eel quickly became attached to his rescuer. When Mozenrath was going to release him, he refused to go. After much arguing, Mozenrath decided to keep him around. He would need someone to talk to around here. Looking through some of the books in his room, he found a name for his little friend. Xerxes. It was the name of the king of Persia in the year 485. Mozenrath told his friend of how Destane had stolen him from his family and used him in his experiments before finding Xerxes. After Xerxes disappearance from the lab, Destane began using Mozenrath in his experiments again.

"It's not as bad as it used to be," Mozenrath told Xerxes, seeing the concerned look on the eel's face. "I've kinda gotten use to it over the past couple years."

The strength of their friendship was proven the night Destane and Mozenrath returned from the city without the princess. Destane had Mozenrath whipped and thrown into the dungeon for helping the girl escape. His cries of pain reached Xerxes ears. He flew down to the dungeons, careful to avoid the mamluks that were looking for him. He found Mozenrath sitting in a cell, chained to the wall. He flew over to his young master.

"Master?" he croaked.

"Xerxes!" Mozenrath said, surprised. "You have to get out of here. If Destane finds you…"

"Not leaving Mozenrath," Xerxes said.

"Xerxes, don't worry about me," the boy said. "Get yourself out of here." Xerxes shook his head.

"Mozenrath come too," the baby eel said.

"I can't," Mozenrath said. "I can't get these chains off."

"Xerxes help." He flew out of the cell. He went down the corridor to where he knew the keys to the cells were hanging. Grabbing them in his teeth, he flew them back to Mozenrath. He dropped the keys onto the boy's awaiting hands. Mozenrath quickly unchained himself and stood.

He stroked the little eel's fins. "Thank you, my friend. Now, let's get out of here." They left the cell and made their way quietly out of the dungeons. They made it up to the entrance hall of the Citadel.

"Going somewhere?" came an oily voice.

"Destane!"

"You didn't think you were going to get away that easily did you?" Destane asked.

Xerxes hid behind Mozenrath. This was the first time the infant had seen Destane since Mozenrath rescued him from the laboratory.

"Perhaps we won't wait until dawn for your execution, boy." He raised his gauntleted hand. A familiar blue and black flame-like light surrounded it. Mozenrath recognized the warning signs and jumped out of the way as Destane sent a blast of magic at him and Xerxes. However, he didn't get out of the way fast enough and was hit in the arm. He lay on the cold floor, struggling to get up. Destane stood over him, gloating. "Such a pity, really. You had so much potential. You would have made a fine sorcerer one day. Oh well… AHHHHH! You damn fish!"

Mozenrath looked up. Xerxes had bitten Destane's arm and was now struggling to get the gauntlet off of him. The boy managed to swing his legs around, knocking Destane off his feet. As Destane fell, the gauntlet came off in Xerxes teeth. He flew it over to Mozenrath and dropped it in his hand. The boy looked at the glove in his hand.

"I wouldn't try putting that on if I was you," Destane warned.

Mozenrath wasn't listening though. His mind was racing; he finally had the power to overthrow the old man once and for all. Taking the gauntlet in his left hand, he thrust his right hand into it. Almost immediately, a sharp pain shot through his body. He clenched his teeth and gripped his right hand.

"What's happening?" he said, his jaw clenched.

"Just a little curse I placed on the gauntlet incase anyone ever stole it," Destane explained as he stood, malice in his voice. "In order for you to gain its power, you must make a small sacrifice. If I'm not mistaken, it's eating away the flesh on your hand. It will continue to do so, however slowly, until it's nothing but bones." He sighed mockingly. "It's the price one must pay for power. Especially power that was never yours to begin with."

"You would know a lot about taking things that never belonged to you..." young Mozenrath stated in a pained voice. "You stole me from my father... AHHHH!" Mozenrath fell to his knees. The pain was becoming too much for him to take. Gathering what strength he could he raised the gauntlet and aimed it at Destane. He gathered his power, as he had been taught, and sent a powerful blast of magic at his master. Destane was blasted off his feet and sent back several feet.

Mozenrath fell on all fours, panting loudly. Xerxes zipped over to him.

"Master? Master okay?" he asked frantically.

"I'm fine, Xerxes," Mozenrath said.

Xerxes grabbed the back of Mozenrath's shirt in his teeth and helped get him to his feet. Mozenrath looked at Destane, who was struggling to get up. Mozenrath walked over to him.

"How does it feel when _you_ get struck to the ground?" Mozenrath said.

"Impudent brat…" Destane growled at his apprentice. "Go on, boy. Kill me."

"Tempting as that is," Mozenrath said, "No. I have a better idea."

With that, he reached down and grabbed the front of Destane's now tattered robes. The boy grinned devilishly as the gauntlet began to glow an eerie green color. Destane slowly started to feel his power slipping away. He soon realized what his former apprentice was up to. The old man began to deteriorate, his skin becoming a pale green color, what muscle he had disappearing. Finally, the former sorcerer was just as his own guards. Mozenrath had turned the most powerful sorcerer in the seven desserts into a shambling, half dead mamluk.

"Let's see how much you like being the slave," Mozenrath grinned. "_I_ am _your_ master now!"

The new Lord of the Land of the Black Sand tossed the shell of his former master away and sent him to stand guard outside the Citadel. Mozenrath looked down at the gauntlet. Taking a chance, he pulled it slowly off of his hand. As soon as he took it off, he looked away. It was disgusting; the flesh was, as Destane had said, being slowly eaten away. The top layers of skin were already gone and the hand was now bleeding profusely. Mozenrath quickly replaced the glove and the bleeding stopped. He felt dizzy and fell to the floor.

Xerxes swam over to him. "Master?" No answer. "Master?" The boy didn't move. Xerxes nudged him with his snout. Mozenrath had passed out. Xerxes went to find some of the mamluks. He had them carry Mozenrath up to his bedchamber and lay him on the bed. Xerxes stayed by Mozenrath's side until the young sorcerer awoke.

Mozenrath regretted all the times he treated Xerxes horribly over the years. He blamed it on all the things that happened to him in his past. All those terrible years as Destane's slave, the beatings, the torture, the starvation. That's what turned him into what he was now. All Xerxes had done was try to show him some affection.

Xerxes looked up at Mozenrath, who was deep in thought. "Master?"

"What is it, Xerxes?" Mozenrath asked gently.

"Master stay with Xerxes?" the little eel asked weakly. Mozenrath nodded.

And so Mozenrath stayed with his familiar until they both ended up falling asleep. After a few hours, Xerxes woke up and looked to see if Mozenrath was still in the room. Mozenrath sat on the floor with his arms folded on the edge of the bed, his head laying on his arms. He was still fast asleep. Xerxes watched his master for a while. He thought back to all the way things use to be. Mozenrath was very much like a parent or older sibling to Xerxes. The man had raised him from infancy. He was always watching out for him and always took care of him. He was the only family Xerxes ever knew. Mozenrath had made the little eel feel wanted and loved. He knew Mozenrath would never completely change.

The little eel eventually fell back asleep, not noticing the princess standing in the doorway.

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary When troubles come and my heart burdened be Then, I am still and wait here in the silence Until you come and sit a while with me 

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains_

_You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas_

_I am strong, when I am on your shoulders_

_You raise me up…to more than I can be_

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains_

_You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas_

_I am strong, when I am on your shoulders_

_You raise me up…to more than I can be_

_You raise me up…to more than I can be…_

(Song – "You Raise Me Up" – Josh Groban _Closer_)

Okay… there you have it. Chapter five. I ran out of other ideas for Jade so I decided to have a little fun. I always thought Xerxes was a cute little guy. I was trying to think of what to write next and I was listening to my Josh Groban CD and this song came on and… well… you read the result. I knew Moze couldn't have always been a rotten guy, especially to as cute a creature as Xerxes, so I did this chapter about how they use to be. Kinda sappy for a Mozenrath fic… but hey… what are ya gonna do? Please review.

More coming soon!


	4. Lord and Master

Chapter Six "Lord and Master"

Jade stood in the doorway. She watched as Xerxes fell asleep, not seeming to notice her. The princess was still unable to believe that Mozenrath was actually being gentle and concerned for his familiar, when the necromancer had raped her and done all the things that Aladdin and Jasmine had said he had done. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the sorcerer had woken up.

Mozenrath opened his eyes and looked at Xerxes, who was fast asleep on the pillows. Sensing someone behind him, he turned. His eyes narrowed as they fell upon the princess. Mozenrath leapt to his feet and stormed over to her.

Jade backed away in fright. The sorcerer grabbed her arms and shoved her back against the wall.

"What are you doing here!" he demanded.

Jade only hissed in reply from the pressure he was applying to her already bruised arms. "I was just coming to see if you had anything else for me to do." Mozenrath sneered at her reply, not believing it. He tightened his grip on her arms, causing her to cry out. "Mozenrath, let go!"

He shoved her against the wall again. "Let's lay out a few ground rules here and now, princess… _You never tell me what to do_! Understood?" Jade nodded. "Also, being as _you_ are _my slave_, you are _never_ to address me by my name. You either call me 'Lord Mozenrath', 'Lord', 'Sire', or 'Master'. I'm sure you know all other appropriate royal titles to call me by. Is that clear?"

"Yes… _my Lord_…"

"That's better," the necromancer said.

He loosened his grip a little. He brought his right hand up to her face. Jade flinched, afraid he would strike her. Mozenrath smirked. He brushed her hair back behind her ear, and stroked her cheek gently. Jade was surprised by the tender act. Seeing the look in his eyes, she knew he didn't mean it.

His gloved hand found its way to the back of her neck. Gripping it firmly, he brought his mouth crashing down onto hers. For once she didn't resist. She knew it was pointless to try. She allowed him to kiss her. She tried to imagine it was someone else; a handsome young prince who had fallen in love with her. She allowed these thoughts to take over her mind.

Mozenrath was surprised to find that Jade was returning his kiss. He expected her to fight him. He felt something press against his sides, then run up his back, around to his chest, and came to rest at the back of his neck. He pulled away and looked at the princess.

Jade was horrified to find that she had wrapped her arms around the necromancer. She dropped her arms to her sides and looked away from him. Mozenrath began laughing. The princess blushed furiously, tears welling up in her eyes from humiliation.

"That was a pleasant surprise, princess," Mozenrath chuckled. He turned her head to look back at him. Tears were streaming down her red face. "Did we embarrass ourselves, Princess?" he teased.

Jade jerked her head away and looked down the corridor. Mozenrath planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "You know you enjoyed that as much as I did," he whispered in her ear. Jade closed her eyes, trying to hold back more tears.

Mozenrath took a step back form her. "Go on now, Jade. I call for you if I need you."

Jade watched him as he turned and returned to his bedchamber. "How is Xerxes doing?" she asked.

Mozenrath stopped in the doorway. For a moment he did nothing. Then he turned and faced her. "He's fine." Then he turned away and closed the door behind him.

The princess looked at the door a moment. Still embarrassed by what had happened, she glanced down at the floor. It was then she noticed that her royal clothing had been replaced by some of the most ragged clothing she had ever laid eyes on. A torn, dark brown midriff-baring shirt with the sleeves torn off, a pair of ragged form-fitting gray pants, and a pair of old beaten sandals. She looked back up at the door to Mozenrath's bedchamber. Her hand flew to her head and her neck. She breathed a sigh of relief as she found that the gifts from her beloved father, the golden head piece with a blue and purple jewel and matching choker, were still in their rightful places. Before anything else happened, Jade hurried off down the corridor.

Mozenrath leaned back against the door to his chamber. _That was unexpected,_ he thought. He shook his head free of thoughts of the princess and returned to his ailing familiar. As he knelt down beside the bed, Xerxes opened his eyes and looked tiredly at his master.

"What Master yell for?" he asked.

"Sorry, Xerxes," Mozenrath said, stroking the eel gently. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Why Master yell?" the eel asked again.

"That nosy little princess was spying on us…" Mozenrath grumbled. Xerxes squirmed under the blanket. "What's the matter?"

"Xerxes cold…" he began coughing.

Mozenrath wrapped the blankets tighter around the eel, and then climbed into the bed beside him. He brought the familiar to his chest and held him gently in his arms. "I'll keep you warm Xerxes. Just stay close to me."

Xerxes snuggled up against his master. He was feeling warmer already. He drifted off to sleep as Mozenrath stroked his fins. Mozenrath watched his sleeping familiar for a while longer. He stood up from the bed and removed his cloak and turban. He draped the cloak over the little eel and laid his turban beside him.

"I'll be back, Xerxes," he whispered, stroking the eel's head gently. "I promise."

He disappeared from the room. Mozenrath entered his laboratory and immediately began searching the shelves for a certain book. Finding the one he was looking for, he opened it to the page with the ingredients for the potion he had planned to make. It was the same potion he made the last time Xerxes got ill and it ultimately saved his little friend's life. Finding the page he set the book down on the book stand next to the cauldron and gathered the ingredients from around the lab. Having everything he needed, he began mixing the potion. He worked not stop, except for when one of the mamluks entered the lab. Annoyed, he blasted it to pieces and went back to work.

Hours later, Mozenrath took a small vile of the completed potion back to his room. When he arrived, he received a surprise.

Jade was sitting on the bed with Xerxes on her lap. Xerxes purred contentedly as Jade stroked his head and back. The two looked up when they heard Mozenrath enter.

"Master!" Xerxes said happily, as though he were a young child welcoming his father home from work. Jade looked slightly frightened at having Mozenrath find her in his bedchamber without his permission.

"What's going on here?" Mozenrath asked.

"He woke up and started calling for you, so I came in to see what was wrong," Jade said. "I sent one of the mamluks to find you, while I stayed here with him."

"Really…" Mozenrath said skeptically.

"Lady take care of Xerxes, Master," the little eel chipped in. "Princess nice." The two humans smiled at the eel. "Where did Master go?"

"Master went to make a potion to help you feel better," Mozenrath said, approaching the bed. He uncapped the vile and held to Xerxes's lips. At the first taste, Xerxes turned his head away, a disgusted look on his face. He shook his head as Mozenrath attempted again to give it to him. "Xerxes, I know it doesn't taste good," the sorcerer said. "But you have to take it if you want to feel better."

Mozenrath gave the potion to him again. Xerxes closed his eyes tightly and allowed the bluish liquid to wash down his throat. Once it was gone, he made a disgusted sound, sticking his tongue out. Mozenrath laughed.

"You should be alright now," he said, stroking his familiar.

Jade watched the two for a moment, and then removed Xerxes from her lap, laying him in the bed. Xerxes gave her hand a small lick as she got up. Jade smiled and Mozenrath just gave a look of disgust. The little eel snuggled up against the pillows and fell asleep.

Mozenrath looked to the princess. "Xerxes seems to have taken a liking to you." Jade looked at him. "Usually, I am the only one that he trusts."

Jade smiled slightly. She bowed to him and walked to the door. "Princess."

She turned. "Yes, my lord?"

Mozenrath hesitated. "…Uh… erm- thank you… for watching him…"

Jade noticed that he was turning slightly red, but didn't say anything. "Your welcome." She bowed again and left the room.

Mozenrath watched as she closed the door behind her. He mentally kicked himself for what had just happened.

_Never show embarrassment, especially to someone lower than you,_ he had heard Destane say time and again. _It shows that you are weak._

"And if there's one thing I'm not," Mozenrath said to himself, "it's weak."

He walked over to his desk and sat down. Picking up the spell book he was reading the night before, he opened it to where he left off.


	5. Dances and Dreams

Chapter Seven "Dances and Dreams"

As the weeks went by, Jade slowly became accustomed to being Mozenrath's personal slave. Everyday, she would cook his meals, and had them ready for whenever he was finished with his work in the lab. She would also bring him something small to snack on while he relaxed in his study.

She quickly learned her way around the Citadel, with the help of the mamluks and Xerxes, who was fully recovered and somewhat attached to the young princess.

Several weeks, nearly four months since Jade made her deal with the sorcerer, Aladdin and company came to see her and plead with Mozenrath to release her.

"She made a deal, and I will hold her to her word," was his reply.

He sat on his throne, a passive look on his face. Xerxes floated over his master's shoulder, grinning and chuckling at Aladdin and his friends. Jade was on her knees next to Mozenrath's throne, her wrists chained to the right armrest. Her head was bowed and her hands rested in her lap.

"Jade…" Jasmine said, clearly upset. "How could you do this to yourself?"

"I had to…" came the soft reply. Jade never once looked up at them as she spoke. She was attempting to hide the bruises on her face that she had received from Mozenrath.

"Jade wouldn't want to leave anyway," Mozenrath chipped in. "She enjoys it here too much." He laughed softly. Jade did nothing. "Don't you, princess?" Jade turned her face away from him. Mozenrath slid his right hand under her chin, turning her face back towards him. "You do like it here, don't you?" He was doing his best to embarrass her in front of the others. He leaned down towards her, so close now that their faces were inches apart.

Jade dropped her head slightly. "Please, my lord…" she said. "Don't do this…"

"Why not?" He raised her head again. He looked back at the others briefly, smirking at them. Then, turning back to Jade, he captured her mouth with his own, kissing her hard and deeply. There was no trace of passion in the kiss, like there were in some of the others he'd given her, only lust. The kiss showed his power over her.

He broke the kiss after a moment, biting her bottom lip before releasing her entirely. "You see," he said to the others. "She loves it here. She loves the… uh… 'special attention' that I give her."

"You bastard!" Aladdin yelled, knowing exactly what Mozenrath's words meant.

"Call me whatever you want and do whatever you wish to me, Aladdin," Mozenrath frowned. "Princess Jade will receive the punishment for it later this evening." Aladdin and the others fought back the urge to attack the necromancer, afraid of what he would do to Jade. "That's better. Now, if you will please leave my kingdom… Jade has work to do."

Mozenrath snapped his fingers and a group of mamluks appeared around Aladdin and his friends.

"Make sure that this rabble leaves my kingdom," he said with an irritated sigh.

Obediently, the undead guards drew their swords and ushered Aladdin and his friends out of the Citadel.

"Jade?" Mozenrath said. Jade looked up silently. She knew what was coming. He grinned devilishly at her, and said softly, "Dance for me."

He pointed a gloved finger at her and put her into a harem outfit with colors that matched that of his own robes. Humiliated, Jade stepped out onto the floor of the throne room. She hesitated a moment, then, with the music playing in her head, she began one of the many dances she had learned on her travels over the years.

Mozenrath studied her fluid movements, becoming deeply entranced. She was very graceful and extremely beautiful, he had to admit. As he watched her, he thought about the past weeks that she had been with him. She turned out to be more obedient than he thought she would be. Over time, she began to no longer resist his advances and, every-now-and-then, would contribute something to their lovemaking. He noticed that Xerxes had become quite fond of her. But, something concerned him.

A dream that he had several nights ago was haunting him: Destane had returned. He had attempted to kill Mozenrath, but a young woman stepped in his way, taking the blast for the young sorcerer. Mozenrath, stripped of his gauntlet, took her in his arms and, with Xerxes, fled from the kingdom. Once they were safe, the girl slipped back into consciousness, as Mozenrath laid her on the ground. They were at an oasis. She placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it gently as he wept. He knew she was dieing and there was nothing he could do to save her. She smiled tenderly at him, telling him everything would be alright. She lowered his head to hers and kissed him.

"I love you," she whispered. Then her hand fell limp at her side.

"No…" the young sorcerer wept. "No… come back… please.. I need you…"

Mozenrath snapped out of his reverie. How he could have dreamed something so preposterous. He didn't _need anybody_. Yet, something nagged him… it wasn't the first time he had had the dream. He had been having it for a long time now; months he thought. Before, he could never see the girl's face, but last night he could, plain as day… And the girl from his dream was on her knees weeping into her hands in front of him right now.

Jade had stopped halfway through her dance and fell to her knees, sobbing. She felt so humiliated. Between Mozenrath kissing her in front of the others and the humiliation of everything else he had done to her, she couldn't help but break down in tears.

"Princess?" came the voice of the necromancer. She looked up, face red and wet with tears. "What's the matter? Come here." She couldn't tell if his voice was sincere in its concern or not. "Come here," he said again. She stood and slowly walked over to him. She got down on her knees in front of him, her head bowed. "Get up," he said gently. She obeyed. His hands slid around her waist and he set her down on his lap, keeping his left hand on her left hip and his right hand rubbing her left thigh. "Why are you crying, Jade?"

For a moment, Jade said nothing. Then, speaking quietly through her tears, she said, "Why are doing this to me?"

"Doing what?"

"Humiliating me…"

"Because I can," came his soft reply as he kissed her cheek.

She turned her head away from him. Mozenrath brushed her hair behind her ear. "Don't…" Jade said. "Don't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because… you're cruel to me one minute, but then you turn around and you're nice to me all of a sudden…"

"So?"

"I want to hate you," Jade said softly. "But you're making that next to impossible."

"And why would you want to hate me? Remember, you did this to yourself." His tone was still gentle.

Jade dissolved into tears again, burying her face on her hands. Mozenrath pulled her tightly against him. Her arms slid up around his neck as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, dampening his robes with her tears. Again, she was seeking comfort from the man who had hurt her. Mozenrath stroked her back gently and began humming softly. The gentle rhythms quieted Jade's tears and lulled her to sleep.

Mozenrath was surprised to say the least when he realized that the princess had willingly fallen asleep in his arms. For a moment he sat there, exchanging looks with Xerxes. He looked back down at the sleeping princess. As he looked at her, thoughts of his past leapt into his mind. While he thought about it, he realized that he was no better to Jade than Destane had been to him. The last thing he wanted was to become his former master.

"And I never will be Destane," he said quietly.

With a soft sigh, he stood and carried the princess out of the throne room, Xerxes close behind. Mozenrath carried Jade up several flights of stairs, and Xerxes realized that they weren't going to Mozenrath's room or the servants' quarters.

The sorcerer took Jade into one of the lavish guestrooms in the east wing. This room was decorated differently from the master bedchamber. The walls were alabaster stone, their whitish tint a complete contrast to the rest of the Citadel. Around the room were fine pieces of furniture made of fine wood and brown marble. Rugs of violet and dark red covered the dark blue marble floor, and violet silken curtains hung around the bed. Red curtains framed the doorway to the large balcony that overlooked the kingdom's largest and most beautiful oasis. Plants were scattered about the room and of in one corner was a fountain, beautifully carved out of white marble, surrounded by a variety of beautiful plants and flowers. The room was lit by small torches mounted on the walls and large columns. One would think they had just entered the garden of a goddess.

Mozenrath strode over to the bed. It was a huge red pillow that was large enough to lay several people on, with smaller violet and deep blue pillows upon it. He lay the still sleeping princess down on the bed and pulled the blankets up over her. He ran his gloved fingers through her hair softly.

"Sleep well, princess…"

He then motioned for Xerxes to follow him out of the room. They left quietly, closing the heavy doors behind them. Neither of them noticed the dream enduesed smile that had spread across her lips.


	6. Remember When It Rained

Chapter Eight "Remember When It Rained"

Wash away the thoughts inside That keep my mind away from you 

Jade awoke from her dream to find herself in unexpected surroundings. As she looked around the room, she thought that she was still dreaming at first.

"How can a room this beautiful in Mozenrath's citadel?" she thought to herself.

She got up from the bed and explored the room. Then she walked out onto the balcony. When she saw the oasis she gasped. It was beautiful! Perhaps there was more to the Land of the Black Sand than met the eye.

She left the room and walked down the corridor. She realized that she was in the east wing and knew exactly where she was going. It was shortly after five o'clock, so she knew the master would be in his study. She followed the corridors to Mozenrath's private study and sure enough, he was there.

Mozenrath was reclined in a cushioned chair, reading a book, as Xerxes lay curled up on a rug in front of the fireplace. Mozenrath heard Jade enter and looked up from his book.

"So," he said with a smile, "you decided to rejoin the living." Jade smiled slightly and nodded. "Do you like your new room?" the sorcerer asked turning his attention back to his book.

"…Y- you mean it's mine now?" Jade asked surprised.

"Yep." Mozenrath saw her confused expression and smiled to himself. "It's all yours. I mean it."

"I don't understand… I'm just your.."

"I've had a change of heart, princess," Mozenrath said.

"What?"

"Xerxes…" Mozenrath said to his familiar. "Leave us." Xerxes looked at his master, slightly put off. "Go on." Xerxes got up from his warm and comfortable place in front of the fire and left the room grumbling about how it was the warmest place in the citadel and he would freeze to death elsewhere.

Mozenrath set his book down on the table beside him. "Come here, Jade."

Jade came over. Mozenrath gestured for her to sit down where Xerxes had been.

"He's going to be mad at you for this."

"He'll get over it…" the two smiled. "Anyway, princess, like I said, I've had a change of heart. I've decided to give you that room for a couple of reasons. Reason one: you deserve it. You have put up with a lot since you've been here…"

"But, I'm just a slave…"

"Don't interrupt me."

"Sorry."

"You've put up with a lot since you've been here. And it's been about four months I believe?" Jade nodded. "So, because you have worked so hard, I have decided to move you into that room and out of the servants' quarters as a reward."

"Just for working so hard?" There had to more to it.

"Well, there are a few other reasons. Another one being, I have to admit, I like your strength."

Jade cocked her head to one side. "What do mean?"

"What I mean is… well- when I was first brought to this place, I was broken very quickly. Though I was just a child, it was pretty pathetic. My former master did everything and more than what I have done to you. And, yes, I mean _everything_." They both shuddered. "Destane was disgusting to say the least…"

"Destane?" Jade said. Mozenrath noticed a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"You _do_ remember…" he said.

No more love and no more pride And thoughts are all I have to do 

"What do you mean?" Jade asked.

"Several years ago, when your city was destroyed by Destane, you were saved by a young boy," Mozenrath said. "He helped you escape from Destane."

"Yes… but, how do you know? The boy was surely killed after that…"

"He almost was," Mozenrath said, thinking back. "Think about what he looked like, princess. A scrawny, pale boy; looked like he hadn't eaten in months. Long, black hair, full lips…"

Jade looked into the sorcerer's eyes. She slowly realized for the first time that she knew those eyes from somewhere. Then it suddenly dawned on her, "You! _You_ were the boy!" Mozenrath nodded. "I thought for sure that you were…"

"I didn't think I would live either," Mozenrath admitted. "If it hadn't been for Xerxes, I would have died for sure."

"Xerxes?" Mozenrath related all of the details to her of what had happened that night after he helped her escape.

Remember when it rained 

_I felt the ground and looked up high and called_

_your name_

_Remember when it rained_

_In the darkness I remain_

Jade couldn't believe what she had just heard. The man before her, the same brute who had treated her terribly for months, the man who threatened to destroy Agrabah and vowed to rule the seven deserts was the little boy who had saved her all those years ago?

"How could that be true?" she thought to herself.

As if reading her thoughts, Mozenrath said, "Time and power can change a person." He looked down at the gauntlet. "I do regret it sometimes, but the power is worth what I had to sacrifice."

Jade stood and backed away from him. "Princess?" Tears in her eyes, Jade fled from the room.

Tears of hope run down my skin 

_Tears for you that will not dry_

Mozenrath stared after her. He had expected some kind of reaction from her. He hadn't thought that telling her the truth would make her this upset however. He got up from his chair and walked out of the study, following the princess back to her room. He knocked softly on the door.

"Go away…" came Jade broken voice.

The sorcerer was starting to feel terrible. He hadn't expected to.

They magnify the one within And let the outside slowly die 

He walked into the room. Jade was laying on the bed, sobbing into one of the pillows. He sat down next to her, laying his hand on her shoulder.

"Princess?" he said softly. "Jade what's wrong?"

"I thought you were dead…" Jade said into the pillow. "I mourned for you even though I hardly knew you. I blamed myself for your death." She wiped her eyes. "Now I find that you've become an evil wizard and are trying to take over the seven deserts." She continued crying into the plush cushions. "… You- you were my _hero_…"

Mozenrath was shocked. _Hero_? He was never called a hero before. _And she mourned me_?

He stroked her back gently. "Princess, I…"

"Please… just leave me alone…"

Mozenrath sighed softly. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her damp cheek. Then he got up and quietly left the room.

Remember when it rained 

_I felt the ground and looked up high and called_

_your name_

Remember when it rained 

_In the water I remain_

_Running down…_

("Remember When It Rained" – Josh Groban _Closer_)


	7. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

Chapter Nine "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" 

Several days passed since Mozenrath told Jade the truth about himself. Things remained the same between them; Jade still served him as his slave, though she was quieter than she used to be. Mozenrath noticed that she hadn't spoken at all today. But, at the moment, that was the least of his concerns.

"Princess," he said to her that night as he sat in the bathtub while Jade scrubbed him clean.

"Yes, Sire?" she said quietly.

"So you can still talk," Mozenrath said, looking back at her. Jade remained silent. "Anyway, princess, I have to leave the kingdom for a while. Possibly a few days. I'm going to trust you to stay here while I'm gone."

"Where do you have to go to?" Jade asked.

"I have an errand that I have to run. I received a lead earlier today on a particular artifact that I've been seeking for some time." Looking into her eyes, he said, "Can I trust you to not run away while I'm gone?" Jade nodded. "Good. I'm leaving at dawn," he said stepping out of the tub, allowing Jade to towel him dry. With a snap of his fingers, he was dressed for bed. He dismissed Jade and went to bed.

Xerxes floated over to his master. "Xerxes go with Master?"

"Even if I say 'no', you'll find a way to follow me," Mozenrath smirked.

The little eel grinned sheepishly. He curled up next to the sorcerer's head and the two fell asleep.

_A dream is a wish your heart makes_

_When you're fast asleep_

Jade went to her room and closed the door. She walked to the finely carved desk across from the bed and sat down in the chair. So Mozenrath was leaving for a few days was he? She was sure he would take Xerxes with him, so that meant that she would be alone. With the exception of the mamluks, of course. She was just glad he would be away from her. She still couldn't believe everything he told her the other night. She was so confused.

She placed her hand over her eyes and proceeded to run it back through her hair. She sat there for a moment, trying to clear her mind. She stood and walked out onto the balcony and looked out over the oasis. She folded her arms on the railing and leaned forward slightly.

_In dreams you will lose your heartache_

_Whatever you wish for, you keep_

It was a beautiful place. She could see the waterfall through the curtain of trees and wild flowers. Every now and again she would a few birds fly in and out of the greenery. A smile spread across her face. It was the most beautiful thing in the Land of the Black Sand.

… except for Mozenrath… Jade started. 'What! Where did that thought come from! How could I think that? He has only been cruel to me since I've been here…' then she thought, 'No… that's not true. He had been nice to me a few times. But, that wasn't real kindness, he was just teasing me… wasn't he? But what actually prompted him to give me this room?'

She hid her face in her hands as her mind raced with these questions.

"Oh, come on, Jade," she said aloud to herself. "Snap out of it."

She went back inside and collapsed on the bed. Curling up under the blankets she fell asleep.

_Have faith in your dreams and someday_

_Your rainbow will come smiling through_

She dreamed she was at the oasis. She was wearing a beautiful red dress with a golden band around her waist. She was sleeping on her side, her head resting on her folded arms, on the bank of the lake. She awoke and listened to the sound of the rushing water from the falls. She sat up and a little bird flew down to her and perched itself on her hand. It sat there, unafraid, and sang a little song for her. Then another flew down and they flew off together. Jade watched them fly away then turned her attention back to the lake. She gazed into the water and looked at her reflection. She caught the reflection of another in the water.

Xerxes floated next to her, smiling. He swam around her happily and then flew behind her. Jade turned to see where he had gone. Xerxes was hovering beside a young man with thick black hair that fell in curls around his ivory face. It took Jade a moment to realize that it was Mozenrath standing before her. He was not wearing his usual deep blue and black robes. Instead he was dressed in robes of white with a thin gold belt around his waist. As usual, his gauntlet was covering his right hand.

Mozenrath walked over to her and knelt down so they were face to face. He smiled to her gently and caressed her cheek with his right hand. Jade lay her hand over his, holding it to her cheek. She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his leather-clad palm.

_No matter how your heart is grieving_

_If you keep on believing_

_The dream that you wish will come true_

Mozenrath stood and held out his hand to her. She took it and stood. He placed her left hand on his right shoulder and placed his right hand on her side. Taking her other hand in his he smiled down at her. Beautiful music began playing and the two began to dance by the lake. Jade was amazed at how well the sorcerer danced. His every step was fluid. He moved her about their dance floor so gracefully it felt as though they were dancing on air.

She looked up into his eyes. They sparkled with the warmth she remembered seeing in them when he had helped her escape Destane. There was no trace of evil whatsoever. The midnight orbs seemed as though they were begging her to trust him once again. And she didn't know why, but she did.

The music slowed to a stop and so did they. Mozenrath wrapped his arms around her, drawing her tightly against him. Jade slid her arms up around his neck, laying her head on his chest. For a while they stayed like that, not saying a word.

"I'm sorry, Jade," Mozenrath said after a moment.

Jade smiled and burrowed deeper against him. Mozenrath stepped away from her. She looked at him confused. "I must leave now, princess. I shall return soon." He kissed her cheek softly and gazed at her a moment longer. Then he turned and disappeared into thin air.

Mozenrath left Jade's room quietly so as not to awaken her. He had no idea why he had gone in or what had possessed him to hug her and kiss her cheek. All he knew now was that he and Xerxes had a long journey ahead of them and he could not waist anymore time.

_No matter how your heart is grieving_

_If you keep on believing_

_The dream that you wish will come true…_


	8. The Book of Khartoum Part I

Chapter Ten "The Book of Khartoum" (part one: Finding the book)

Mozenrath went out to the stables to mount his waiting horse.

The handsome black stallion, which Mozenrath had dubbed Midnight, nickered softly at the wizard's approach. The necromancer patted the horse's nose, gaining an affectionate nudge from him.

"We have a long trip ahead of us, my friend," Mozenrath said, stroking the stallion's strong neck. "Are you up to it?" Midnight's red eyes flickered in the early sunlight as shook his head up and down. "You are? Good!" The young wizard climbed into the silver and ruby embroidered ebony saddle and gathered the matching reins in his hands.

Mozenrath clicked to the stallion and they rode out into the desert, heading northeast of the royal city.

The wizard could barely contain his excitement; he had received word from someone about where a special artifact might have been buried. With it he would finally have the power to take over the seven deserts.

He could not get to the place by magic, so the journey was long and treacherous. The sun set three times before the small band reached the ruined city. On a half-destroyed wall nearby, Mozenrath saw some hieroglyphics. He directed Midnight towards them. He dismounted and tethered Midnight to a broken pole. He then proceeded to study the ancient pictures. As he read, his heart gave a leap.

"Look, Xerxes," he said. "The legends must be true. It says here that the Book of Khartoum is somewhere in this city. The only question is 'where'?"

"Pictures not say?" Xerxes asked.

"That would make it too easy to find, Xerxes," Mozenrath explained. "It is full of Dark magic. The ones who hid it would not want it to found so easily." He sighed. "Looks like we'll have to do it the hard way."

He walked to what he assumed was the center of the ruins. He looked around. "Look for something that may look like it could be used for a vault of some kind," he told the eel. The two split up and began searching the remains of the city.

Soon, Xerxes came across what looked like a door buried under the sand. "Mozenrath!" he called out. "Mozenrath! Xerxes find something! Xerxes find something!"

Mozenrath rushed to where his familiar was. He looked to the spot on the ground where Xerxes was pointing with his tail. He saw what was once a finely decorated door. He knelt down and began digging. Xerxes used his little fins to help brush away the sand. After several minutes, they uncovered a fully intact door. Mozenrath grabbed the handle and yanked the door open with all his strength. Under the door was a stone staircase leading to an underground chamber. Mozenrath lit a torch and the two ventured down in the depths of the city. They followed a long corridor for what seemed like hours, when they came upon a series of tunnels leading in every direction.

"Which way, Master? Which way?" Xerxes asked.

Mozenrath closed his eyes, as though in meditation. Concentrating hard, he tried to focus on the waves of Dark magic he was feeling. "That way." He pointed to the tunnel to the immediate right of the one they were currently following. The started down the corridor, unaware that something was behind them.

They followed the tunnel until they came to a large stone door. Mozenrath hung the torch up on a mount and reached for the door handle. He pulled on it, but the door didn't budge. Mozenrath took the handle in both hands and pulled as hard as he could. As he pulled, his hands slipped from the door and he lost his balance, falling to the hard stone floor.

"Master okay?" Xerxes asked.

Mozenrath stood. "I'm fine." He grabbed the handle again and pulled on it. Finally the door came ajar. He opened it enough for him to get inside.

The room was large and lit by an eerie blue glow. On the opposite side of the room was an altar. Upon it was…

"The Book of Khartoum!" Mozenrath declared. He and Xerxes rushed to the altar. A blue, almost white, beam of light shone down on the book. Mozenrath was about to take the book when he heard a low growl behind him. "Xerxes?"

The eel was facing the door, shaking in fear. His jaw was open and it looked like he was attempting to say something. Mozenrath looked at the door and froze. A large creature stood between them and the exit.

"A Taklaer!" Mozenrath said. He had read about them during his time with Destane, but he had never actually run into one.

A Taklaer looked like a demonic tiger. Its fur was white with thick black stripes. It had a thin body with a broad back and three long lion-like tails. It walked on four large legs with giant paws and four dagger sized claws on each foot. Two pointed ears poked up from a shaggy head, with a face that consisted mostly of a large mouth with razor sharp teeth and three black eyes, one large one in the center and two smaller ones on either side of it. No one had ever tamed a Taklaer before, for they were far too ruthless to control and rarely had anyone ever escaped from one. Taklaers were capable of living for hundreds of years, feeding off of the smallest of animals. And this one looked hungry.

"I knew this was too easy," Mozenrath said.

Xerxes darted behind the necromancer, peeking over his shoulder at the hungry beast. "What we do, Master? What we do?"

"Calm down, Xerxes," Mozenrath said, not moving an inch or taking his eyes from the Taklaer. "I'll think of something." He had to think quickly. He was unable to use his magic in this place, otherwise the beast would have been dead by now.

The Taklaer began moving towards them slowly, its claws clicking against the stone floor. Saliva dripped from its jaws as it neared them, growling softly.

Xerxes shook visibly behind Mozenrath. The Taklaer charged them and the two dove in opposite directions. The creature went after Xerxes. Xerxes darted up towards the ceiling. The Taklaer jumped onto a column and, digging its claws into the stone, climbed up to the eel. Once it reached the top, it leapt at Xerxes, catching him under its huge paw. The two fell to the ground. The Taklaer landed on its feet, Xerxes trapped under its front right paw. The little eel wiggled madly, trying to escape. As the Taklaer lowered its head to take a bite of its prey, Mozenrath tackled it from the side, knocking it away from Xerxes. The little eel watched his master struggle with the predator.

The Taklaer leapt at him, Mozenrath shot out his leg landing a kick to the side of the creature's head. The beast quickly recovered and lashed out at the sorcerer with one of its tails. Mozenrath hollered in pain as the tail struck his left side. As he clutched it with both hands, the Taklaer wrapped another tail around the wizard's leg and pulled, causing Mozenrath to fall to his back. The Taklaer pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. It roared in pain; Xerxes had sunk his teeth into the larger beast's back.

The Taklaer turned its head and snapped at Xerxes, who flew away immediately. The moment of distraction gave Mozenrath the chance to use all his strength to throw the beast off of him. The creature sailed over his head and landed with a sickening thud on its back. Mozenrath stood and pulled out the dagger that he had sheathed in his belt. The Taklaer leapt and slapped his hand with its large paw, causing the dagger to fall and slide across the floor. The beast lashed out again, but Mozenrath dove to the side. He landed on his stomach. As the Taklaer leapt again, Mozenrath reached over and grabbed the dagger from where it lay nearby. He held it out in front of him in defense and the thing slid into the Taklaer's middle eye with a ill sound. The beast howled and backed away, waving its large paw furiously at its bleeding eye.

Mozenrath lunged at the beast, knocking it to its side. Raising the dagger high, he drove it into the Taklaer's ribs. He pummeled it with the dagger until the creature cried no more. He stumbled back from the Taklaer, covered in blood and bruises. He resheathed the bloody dagger in his belt and fell back. Leaning back on his elbows, panting heavily, he stared at the dead creature.

Xerxes swam over to his master. "Mozenrath okay!" he asked frantically.

Mozenrath nodded. "I'm fine," he panted. He looked at the eel. "Are you alright?"

Xerxes nodded. He looked at the beast that his master had slain. "Master and Xerxes go home now?"

Mozenrath laughed, still panting. "Yes… we can go home now…"

The wizard stood. He looked back at the altar, upon which the book still lay. He limped over. He stared at the book for a moment, then, reaching for it slowly, he took it in his blood stained hands.

"I hope this was worth it," he said to Xerxes.

The two turned and ran out passed the dead Taklaer, grabbed the torch from where they left it, and charged back down the corridors, not stopping until they burst through the opening back into the daylight. Once back in the outside world, they collapsed on the sand. Mozenrath closed the heavy door and the two went back to Midnight, who was nibbling on some dried grass that he had found, completely oblivious as to the ordeal the his master had just gone through.

Mozenrath placed the book into the saddlebag and untethered the horse. With Xerxes wrapped about his shoulders, he mounted the stallion and rode off, back to the Land of the Black Sand.

Jade stood at the balcony of the throne room, looking out over the city. Not that there was much to look at. It had been over a week and the Lord of the Black Sands had not yet returned.

'He said he would only be gone a few days,' she thought. 'I wonder if something happened.' She shook her head. "The longer he's gone the better…" she aloud to herself. She sighed. "Why am I constantly thinking about him? Why am I so worried that something happened to him? He's done nothing but drive me crazy…"

"Anyone I know?"

Jade turned. "Lord Mozenrath!" she gasped. How long had he been standing there? 'Long enough, probably.' "Welcome back…"

"Thank you," Mozenrath said, walking to stand beside her at the railing. He looked out over his kingdom.

"Was your journey successful?" Jade asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes. Very successful indeed," came his reply. He turned his head to face her. She was looking back at the city. "You look troubled," he said. "Where you hoping I wouldn't return?"

"No," Jade said. She hoped he would believe that.

Mozenrath smirked. "Well, I almost didn't." Jade turned back to look at him. "Have you ever heard of a Taklaer?" Jade shook her head. "Follow me." Jade followed the sorcerer to his study. She noticed as they walked that he was limping, however slightly. Mozenrath took a book from a shelf. After leafing through it he found the page he was looking for. He handed it to her. "Here, see this creature?" He pointed to the picture on the page of the beast. "That is a Taklaer. Not the kind of creature you want to run into. While I was retrieving the artifact I went for, Xerxes and I were attacked by one. I managed to kill it, but I didn't go unscathed."

Jade looked at him. He lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing an ugly looking wound. It reached from the left side of his back, down across his ribs and into the top of his pants. It was an ugly shade of red and was beginning to scab over.

Jade cringed. "That looks painful. Are you alright?"

"Mm hmm." A hiss from him as he lowered his shirt told her differently.

"Yeah right," Jade said. "You should get that bandaged. It already looks like it's getting infected. If I had some supplies I could do it for you."

Mozenrath looked at her, slightly surprised. "You would help _me_?" Jade nodded. "Why?"

"I hate seeing people get hurt."

Mozenrath pointed to the table next to his reading chair and instantly a tray of bandages and medical supplies appeared. He sat down in the chair, wincing as he did so. He tossed his turban aside followed by his cloak. He leaned back into the soft cushions.

"You'll have to take your shirt off, too," Jade said.

Mozenrath smirked. "You would love to see that, wouldn't you?" he teased.

"Do you want that wound wrapped or not?"

Mozenrath was mildly surprised at her boldness to speak to him that way, but kept smirking as he removed his shirt. He hissed loudly as he did so. Jade helped him take it off.

She knelt down beside him and began to examine the wound. "It's deep. I'll have to stitch it."

Mozenrath froze. "With a n- needle?"

"Yes. That's usually how it's done." She looked at him curiously. "Why?" Mozenrath said nothing, only gulped. Then Jade realized, "You're afraid of needles!" She laughed softly.

"I have my reasons," Mozenrath defended, sounding slightly hurt and slightly annoyed.

"Why are you afraid of needles?"

"Destane." Jade tilted her head. "He used me as a guinea pig in his experiments and was always injecting some kind of potion into me to test it. He used needles because I refused to drink the potions."

Jade immediately regretted laughing at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Mozenrath said nothing. Jade reached for the supplies and began cleaning the wound. She threaded a small needle and looked up at the wizard, whose eyes were filled with fear. Jade placed her hand over his reassuringly. She then stuck the needle into his skin, gently, starting at his back. Mozenrath hissed and tried to pull away.

"Hold still," Jade said. "It will only hurt more if you don't." Mozenrath relaxed and allowed her to continue. It took her and hour to carefully stitch the wound closed. Mozenrath refused to look at her the whole time she did this. Jade took a damp cloth and cleaned away any blood that had dried over the thread. She then wrapped a clean bandage around the wound. "There you go."

"Than you," Mozenrath said softly. He leaned back with a sigh.

"You're welcome." She placed her hand over his once again.

Absently, Mozenrath turned his hand and clasped her hand in his, squeezing it lightly. The two looked at each other. Mozenrath brought her up to sit in his lap. Jade did not resist and sat down, her eyes never once leaving his. The necromancer took her chin in gloved thumb and index finger and brought her face towards his. Closing his eyes, he captured her lips with his, kissing her deeply. For once it wasn't a hard, demanding kiss, but one filled with emotion and warmth. Jade returned the kiss with equal passion. Mozenrath wrapped his arms around her tightly as hers slid up around his neck. The kiss lasted for several minutes. When they broke apart, Jade laid her head down on his shoulder as he continued to hold her. They didn't speak, for neither wanted to break the spell. For about a half an hour they stayed that way, Mozenrath, occasionally, softly kissing her forehead. Jade kissed his cheek and twirled and untwirled a lock of his ebony hair around her finger.

"Jade?" he said softly.

"Yes?"

"You're so beautiful…" he murmured into her hair.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked quietly.

"Of course. Who wouldn't?"

Jade smiled and burrowed her face deeper into his neck. Mozenrath tightened his hold on her. "I'm sorry, princess. But, I'm going to have to put an end to this little moment," he said regretfully. "I have some work to do in my lab."

"Very well," Jade replied quietly. She also sounded disappointed.

They released their holds on each other. They kissed tenderly one final time before Jade stood up. Mozenrath stood and retrieved his discarded clothing, putting them back on.

Looking back at Jade, he said, "Thank you, again, Jade."

"You're welcome. I'll change your bandages later this evening."

Mozenrath nodded in agreement. Then he turned and left Jade alone in the study. Jade left shortly after him.

Over in a dark corner, a little creature smiled before slithering silently out of the room.


	9. The Book of Khartoum Part II

Chapter Eleven "The Book of Khartoum" (Part two: The Philosopher's Stone) :Novelized version of the episode "The Book of Khartoum".

"Open the book, open the book! Open the book- ugh!" Xerxes was immediately silenced when Mozenrath grabbed him around the neck.

"Quiet, Xerxes!" he said. He turned his gaze to the book before him. "It took me seven years of searching the seven deserts to find the Book of Khartoum. And now that it's mine, I want to savor the moment." He gave Xerxes a final squeeze before releasing him.

"Yes, Master," Xerxes coward before swimming away.

Mozenrath placed his glove covered hand on the cover of the book, which had the face of the wizard, Khartoum, on it. "Many great wizards have dreamt of unlocking its dark secrets," as he spoke the gauntlet began to glow, as did the book, "but, I no longer have to dream…"

He removed his hand and the book floated up to eye level. Xerxes swam closer to get a good look. Suddenly, the face on the cover came alive. Xerxes screamed and darted behind his master, who also looked mildly surprised. Then the book spoke.

"Finally, someone worthy of my magic has released me," it said. "What is it that you seek?"

After regaining his composure, Mozenrath spoke. "Oh, not much really. Just… _all of your secrets_!" He folded his arms over his chest.

"Ah, a wizard with a taste for power… I like that." The book opened and spoke as the pages turned on their own. "The key to all the magical secrets of the cosmos is held within the Philosopher's Stone." It showed a picture of the blue, oval shaped stone.

Mozenrath was excited. "Yes… where can I find this stone?"

"You do not find it… you _make_ it," Khartoum told him. He turned to a picture of a large furnace. "First you must build a furnace to heat a small quantity of sands, crystals and flakes of gold."

"Mere child's play," Mozenrath shrugged.

The book closed. "There is one element that is absolutely essential: A cosmic power source strong enough to heat the furnace."

Mozenrath grinned evilly. "Oh, I know just what can provide such power…"

Genie paced back and forth in front of Aladdin, Iago, and Abu, nervously. "Bowling… oh, no, boring… dancing! Ah, dullsville… yachting... yuck!"

Aladdin laughed. "You're worrying too much, Genie. There's lots of fun things to do."

Genie stopped and turned to face him. "But this is a big BIG night, Al." He pulled out a wallet out of which fell a long strip of pictures of a green, female djinn. "It's the anniversary of the first time I saw… _Eden_…" he stared off into space dreamily. "When we met, pigs flew in outer space and played croquet. It was more than semi-phenomenal… it was nearly, totally cosmic!"

Iago, perched on Aladdin's shoulder, yawned from disinterest. "Please, spare me the details. I'll read about it in tomorrow's tabloid, 'Genie's Not So Secret Love Life'."

Genie made a giant book with a pink heart on the front and back cover appeared in his hands. "Now let's see… '_The Big Book of Everything There is to Do On a Big Date With the Absolute Love of Your Life…and More_'." He leafed through the book desperately. "There's gotta be something in here!"

"What's all the fuss?" Iago said flying over. "How hard can it be for two djinn to have fun? You could go through a paper shredder and call it a party."

Abu nodded in agreement.

"It's not that simple guys," Genie sighed.

"Sure it is, Genie," Aladdin said. "Why don't you take Eden for a romantic stroll down by the ocean?"

"Wait! I've got it: Since Jasmine's off on a caravan now, _you_ won't be busy. So you could tag along and give me helpful hints?"

"No, no… you'll do fine, Genie. Trust me."

"You're right, Al. I'm a big boy!" Turning into a teenage kid on a skateboard, Genie skated out of the palace. "I can do this… I _know_ I can!"

Aladdin waved after him. "Have fun, Genie. I won't wait up for you!"

Iago turned to Abu. "I've got to see this date. You with me, monkey boy?"

"Huh?"

"I haven't had a good laugh in a _long _time. Ha-ha!"

Genie flew along the beach holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of candy. "Ah, romance. I can practically smell it in the air." He took a huge sniff. "Whew… that's some romance." He turned and was licked on the face by a camel. "Argh!" He saw that two camels were leading a carriage, driven by a man in a cloak. "Yes! A camel ride with Eden along the beach would be the perfect thing to do!" he said climbing in. The driver started the carriage and drove off the beach. "Eden should be here any moment. She'll love this."

"What's a carriage doing in the middle of nowhere?" Iago asked.

Abu shrugged.

Genie noticed that they were leaving the beach. "Uh, excuse me, driver. But, we're supposed to stay on the beach… this isn't right."

"There's been a change in plans," the driver said. He turned his head and threw back the hood of his cloak. "A _big _change."

"MOZENRATH!"

The roof of the carriage closed over Genie, trapping him inside. He struggled to get out. "Is there an extra charge for this?"

"For you… it's a free ride!" With a wave of his hand, they disappeared.

"Looks like Genie's gonna be late for that date…"

Genie and Mozenrath reappeared at the citadel. Genie was trapped inside a giant jar.

"Don't tell me," he said, pounding on the glass. "Magic proof glass, one hundred percent…"

Khartoum floated over. "Very clever, Mozenrath. A djinn." He floated over to Genie. "You'll certainly provide the power necessary to create the Philosopher's Stone." He floated away.

Mozenrath walked up and pointed to Genie threateningly. "When I want something, I _get it_!"

Genie looked at him pitifully. "Oh, you need to get out more often, man. You're talkin' to _books_ now!" He grinned. "Let's face it… you're a basket case!"

"You have no choice!" Mozenrath roared. "I need every last drop of your spirit!"

Genie shrank a few sizes. "But, uh, then, uh… what will become of little old me?"

"You'll be nothing… less than nothing actually…"

Xerxes floated over to laugh at Genie. "Nothing! Nothing! Hehe!"

"Nothing!" Eden said to Aladdin. "Not even a phone call to say he was going to be late! That's really not like him…"

"I don't get it," Aladdin said, scratching his head in confusion. "Genie was really excited about seeing you tonight, Eden."

"I hope he's alright," little Dahndi, Eden's mistress, spoke up. The girl looked worried too. "Ever since the day we met Genie, she hasn't stopped talking about him."

Eden was pacing about. "Oh, dear… a million things could have happened to him…"

"It may not be that bad, Eden," Aladdin said trying to reassure her.

"It's worse!" came the voice of Iago. He and Abu stopped in front of them, out of breath. "Mozenrath took Genie for a ride!"

Suddenly, Eden turned into a giant green dragon, spitting fire about the room. "Raaahhh! _Someone_ _stole my Genie_!" She turned into a giant boot. "I'll squash him like a bug!" She stomped. Then she turned into a body builder, bending a barbell and breaking it. "I'll tear him to pieces!"

"Better make a note, monkey," Iago warned. "Don't ever get on this girl's bad side."

Abu nodded in agreement. "Uh huh!"

"Where does this Mozenrath live?" Eden asked.

"In the Land of the Black Sand," Aladdin said, as though it was vile just to say.

"Well _Mozenrath_ is gonna wish he'd never messed with _my_ man!" Turning half of her body into a rocket, she launched out of the palace.

"We'd better follow her, guys," Aladdin said. "If Mozenrath's involved she's gonna need our help." Placing a hand on the little girl's shoulder he said gently, "You stay here, Dahndi. This could be dangerous." Letting out a loud whistle, "Carpet!"

He and Abu boarded the flying rug and followed Eden.

"Oh, boy!" Iago said. "Just what I needed: a night on the town with a love struck djinn on the warpath. How did I get so lucky!" he added sarcastically.

"Excellent, Mozenrath," Khartoum said as he watched Mozenrath place the ingredients into the furnace. "You have followed my directions perfectly. With this furnace, you will soon gain unimaginable power."

"I can practically taste it already," Mozenrath said, closing the door of the furnace. "I only hunger for the Philosopher's Stone."

Genie, still in the glass, turned into a doctor and leafed through a giant medical book. "Let's see… Philosopher's Stone… Seventy-five percent fat! Fifty thousand calories! Oh ho, nope! Not good at all!" He slammed the book closed, causing it to disappear. "Your cholesterol count will really blow up with that!"

"Enough!" Mozenrath roared. He pointed a gloved finger at the furnace, starting it up. The tubes on the top and bottom of the glass began sucking out Genie's energy, making him shrivel up.

"Oh, this is really going to put a crimp in my day…"

"Hehehe," Xerxes chuckled. "It's working! Good!"

"Yes…" Mozenrath said. A triumphant look spread over his face. "And soon I will have all the power of the cosmos!" Suddenly, the furnace began to die down. "What!"

"Is something wrong?" Khartoum asked.

"Not working. Not good…" Xerxes said.

"Come on, guys," Genie panted. "You can't burn the djinn at both ends. It's- in – the – manual."

"The djinn obviously isn't powerful enough to heat the furnace," Khartoum observed.

"NO!" Mozenrath said, slamming the glass with his fists in frustration. "Not when I'm so close…"

"Then you must get more power," Khartoum said, his eyes glowing red. "Or your dreams of unlocking the cosmos greatest secrets will be dashed… _forever_!"

Mozenrath stormed out of the lab. _Where can I find more power! _He thought.

He was so angry, that he didn't watch where he was going and tripped… falling right into Jade who was coming around the corner. The two fell to the ground, Mozenrath on top of her. Mozenrath pushed himself up on his elbows, shaking his head. Jade looked up at him, surprised.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine!" Mozenrath said, harsher than he meant to be. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

Jade nodded. "Is something wrong? You look troubled."

"No, no," Mozenrath said. "I'm just a little mad, that's all. Something didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Now I'm just trying to find a way to fix it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so, princess."

A moment passed before either of them realized that they hadn't stood up yet. Mozenrath cleared his throat and stood. He held out his hand for Jade to take. She took it and stood up. "Thank you."

"Well, that was fun," Mozenrath grinned. "We must do this again sometime." Jade giggled. "So she does laugh!" In all the months that Jade had been here, this was the first time Mozenrath had heard her laugh.

"Well… you haven't really given me much reason to…" Jade said sheepishly.

Mozenrath smiled. "Well, I should probably get back to work. You should, too. Go on." He gave her a small slap on the bottom and sent her off. Then he headed for the throne room. As he entered the room, something outside caught his attention. He went to the balcony and looked out. Another djinn! And a girl at that. He grinned as she sent another blast at the mamluks, who were trying to stop her from entering the citadel.

"This is wonderful!" Mozenrath declared, as Xerxes swam up to him.

"Wonderful?" the eel asked.

"Look at her, Xerxes," indicating Eden. "She's young, she's vivacious, and she's full of cosmic energy. That djinn will provide the perfect power boost we're looking for."

Xerxes chuckled evilly.

Eden came up to the doors of the citadel. Two more mamluks came out of the palace, swords raised.

"You boys obviously don't know the meaning of the word 'quit'," Eden laughed. She turned into a motorcycle rider. "And neither do I, baby!" she said, revving the engine.

The mamluks dropped their swords in shock. Eden barreled through them, sending the pieces everywhere.

"Yuck!" Iago said as the head of a mamluk flew by him and the others.

Carpet stopped at the open doors.

"Eden!" Aladdin called.

"Aladdin?" Eden replied, from inside. "I've got everything under control!"

"Your heard the girl, Al," Iago said, pulling at Aladdin's elbow. "We can go home. She doesn't need us."

"But Genie _does_."

Carpet started forward, just as a mamluk grabbed on.

"I hate hitchhikers!" Iago screamed. "Especially undead ones!"

Carpet charged in, just as the doors closed, trapping the mamluk between them. Pulling free of its grip, it flew further in the citadel.

"Where did Eden go?" Aladdin asked, jumping off.

"Genie?" Eden called softly. "Genie?"

"Looking for someone?" Mozenrath asked, appearing in a flash of blue.

"You must be Mozenrath," Eden said, coming over to him."

"At your service," said the wizard, with a mock bow.

"Okay, pal," Eden said. "I'll be short and to the point… LET – MY – GENIE – GO!"

Mozenrath removed his hands from his ears. "_Your _Genie?" he asked. Then added, teasingly, "How cute! Genie's got a girlfriend!"

"Girlfriend, girlfriend! Teehee!" Xerxes sang.

Eden turned into a green Doberman and growled viciously. "Let him go… or you're dead meat!"

"Oh really?" Mozenrath said. Then, pretending to be scared, he said "Oh, if even a _hair_ on my head is harmed… your blue beau will be in worse shape than he's in now!"

"Now?" Eden said. "What do you mean?"

"Why talk about it, when I can show you…" he transported the three of them to his lab.

"Oh, no!" Eden said, seeing Genie's state. He looked like an old man, his beard beginning to gray. She ran to him. "Genie! Are you alright?"

"Eden, I'm sorry about our date tonight," Genie said. "I'm just not feeling one hundred percent. But, don't worry… a few thousand years of sit-ups and leg-lifts and I'll be in tip top shape."

"What have you done to him you brute!" Eden yelled at Mozenrath.

"He's merely lending me a helping hand," Mozenrath shrugged.

"Isn't that what _friends_ are for?" Khartoum grinned.

The door to the lab opened.

"Oh, great," Iago said. "Mozenrath's made a new friend. And he's a book with a _big_ mouth."

"Aladdin!" Mozenrath said, turning around. "What an unpleasant surprise to see you…"

"Be careful, Eden," Aladdin said, coming up next to the djinn, not taking his eyes from the necromancer. "You can't trust Mozenrath."

"I'm not worried, Aladdin," Eden said. She turned into a giant mallet. "I'll get Genie out!" She charged at the glass and started banging on it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Mozenrath said. He shot a blast of magic at the glass.

"OWWWW!" Genie yelled, clutching his head.

"Genie!" Eden said. "My darling, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm okay," Genie said. "But I think I'm going to have a really bad headache in the morning."

"Maybe we can rush Mozenrath," Aladdin said, coming up beside Eden.

"It's no use," Eden said. "Genie is at his mercy. Mozenrath, if you let Genie go, _I_ will take his place."

"Hmm," Mozenrath pondered. "Interesting proposition…"

_Déjà vu!_ Said everyone's mind.

"Now I _know_ this girl's one gumdrop short of a fruitcake!" Iago said.

"I've considered your offer, djinn," Mozenrath said. "And it's a deal. _You_ in exchange for _him_. Why don't we shake on it?" he held out his right hand.

"Eden no! Don't!" Aladdin yelled. But it was to late, her hand was already in Mozenrath's.

Their hands began glowing. Eden struggled to free her hand. "Wha- what's happening?" She appeared in another glass jar next to Genie's, but Genie had not been released. "You cheated me!" Eden yelled, pounding on the glass.

"Double crosser!" Aladdin accused.

"Ooh," Mozenrath shrugged. "Big surprise. Now I will have _twice_ the power to run my furnace!"

"Not as long as _I'm_ around!" Aladdin said, charging at the sorcerer.

"Then, you _won't_ be around!" Mozenrath yelled. He shot a magic blast at Aladdin, sending him out through the high window of the lab. Carpet, Iago and Abu soon followed.

The group landed in the sand, miles from the citadel.

"Do we get frequent flyer miles for this trip?" Iago asked sarcastically.

"Excellent, Mozenrath," Khartoum congratulated. "Soon, the Philosopher's stone will be ready!"

"Yes. And I will be the most powerful wizard _ever_!"

"I always thought we'd grow old together, Eden," Genie said. "But not _this_ fast…"

An elderly Eden blew him a kiss. "At least we had Agrabah."

A siren like sound went off. "The Philosopher's Stone is ready!" Khartoum declared.

Mozenrath opened the door of the furnace. Reaching in, he pulled out a smooth, oval shaped stone. Just as he pulled it out, it few out of his hand and landed in the center of Khartoum's turban. "What?"

"At last!" Khartoum said. His full body rose up out of the book. "I am _free_! The power of the cosmos is finally mine!"

"No…" Mozenrath said. "The power was supposed to be mine!"

"Fool!" Khartoum pointed a finger at him, sending a powerful wave of magic at him. Mozenrath flew back into Genie's glass. "It was _never_ meant to be yours!"

Realization dawned on Mozenrath. "You- you _used_ me!"

"Naturally," Khartoum said. "I needed someone greedy enough to create the stone and release me from my prison. And _you_ were that someone. Now, thanks to you, the wold will tremble before the great Khartoum!"

The ancient sorcerer walked around the lab, pausing at the floating book that he once occupied. "It's been many centuries since my enemies trapped me inside this accursed book. But, now, with the Philosopher's Stone in place, no one shall _ever_ imprison me again!"

He slapped the book away, sending it at Mozenrath. The boy ducked, letting the book hit the glass behind him.

"Next time, Moze," Genie said, "watch what you order from the Book of the Millenium Club!"

"Khartoum," Mozenrath growled. "That stone is _mine_… _I_ made it!"

He shot a blast of magic at the elder wizard, which was easily blocked.

"Your magic is just a parlor trick to me, boy," Khartoum said. "Mine on the other hand…" he began to grow taller, like a giant, "… is limitless."

Mozenrath gasped.

"It's amazing how fast these youngins grow up these days," Genie said.

"The Philosopher's Stone is getting much, much stronger," Khartoum said. "And so am _I_!" Magic poured from his hands, going in all directions.

The palace began to crumble. Shielding his head, Mozenrath ran and dove under a table.

"And I thought Wonder Boy was twisted!" Genie said. "_This_ guy takes the cake!"

"And all the candles, too," Eden agreed.

"Call me silly," Iago said. "But, something tells me this isn't the best time to drop in on Mozenrath!"

"Maybe not," Aladdin said. "But, we've got to save Genie and Eden!" _And, if we can find her, Jade!_

"I won't let you cheat me out of what's rightfully mine!" Mozenrath yelled, marching towards the giant Khartoum.

He sent out a powerful wave of magic, only to have it drawn into the Stone.

"Your magic is useless against me!" Khartoum laughed. He sent the magic right back at Mozenrath.

The young sorcerer and his familiar ran behind a half-crumbled column.

"Looks like Mozenrath bit off more than he could chew," Aladdin said as he and the others entered the lab.

"Couldn't happen to a nicer maniac," Iago said.

Mozenrath shot another blast at Khartoum. Khartoum moved out of the way and the magic hit the roof above him, sending a large piece of stone onto his head. Straightening his turban, he roared, "Enough! No more games!"

He sent a shot a Mozenrath, hitting the gauntlet. Mozenrath looked at it confused. When he tried to retaliate, nothing happened. "What?" He tried again. Nothing. "My power! It's gone!"

"First your power," Khartoum said, "Now _you_!"

Mozenrath ran. Aladdin jumped out from his hiding place behind the next column.

"Too bad you can't finish what you started, Mozenrath!" he taunted.

"Every minute the power of the Philosopher's Stone grows!" Mozenrath said.

"Uh oh!" Genie said, looking into the book. "There's a limited warranty on the Philosopher's Stone. Says here that if its power grows without proper maintenance, the stone will self destruct!"

"And it already looks like it's gonna blow!" Eden observed.

Khartoum sent another wave of magic at Mozenrath. "Nothing can help us now!" the boy yelled as he ran away.

"I'm with the kid… we're doomed!" Iago said.

"Well, I'm not leaving until Genie and Eden are safe!" Aladdin declared.

Jade was walking towards the lab when the citadel started to fall apart.

"What did he do now!" she said aloud. She ran to the lab to find Mozenrath.

As she entered the room, she saw a fully recovered Genie and Eden fly off to fight the still growing Khartoum. 'What the…' Seeing all the rubble, she looked around for Mozenrath, who was laying on the ground, hiding behind a column with Xerxes.

Mozenrath's eyes widened when he saw her. In all the confusion, he had forgotten about her. He looked to see if Khartoum had noticed. The giant wizard was suddenly shrinking back down into the book. Genie and Eden had gotten the Stone away from him! His power was gone.

Once again, Khartoum was trapped inside the book. "Not again…"

Mozenrath and Aladdin walked over to it. "You fool!" Mozenrath said. "You ruined everything!"

"Well, you know what they say," Aladdin said, " 'You can't judge a book by its cover'." He and Iago began laughing. Mozenrath was not amused. The book disappeared.

Aloud explosion caught everyone's attention. They looked up. A bright light illuminated the sky. The stone had exploded… and Genie and Eden went with it!

"I can't believe it," Aladdin said. "They sacrificed themselves…"

"Who cares?" Mozenrath said. He was sitting on the floor, a depressed look on his face. "I lost everything." He buried his face in his arms.

Jade felt sorry for him. A strange rain fell from the sky. As quickly as it had started, it stopped. The two djinn appeared.

"Genie! Eden! You guys are okay!" Aladdin said happily.

Iago and Abu high-fived as Carpet clapped his tassels joyously.

"Now _that_ was a phenomenally cosmic anniversary!" Genie said, taking Eden's hands.

"Like the Genie embrace," Eden said, referring to what had restored their powers, "It's legendary."

_I hope Jade got away_, Aladdin thought. He hoped she had gotten out before she got hurt. She had to have! He and the others got on Carpet and flew off behind Genie and Eden, back to Agrabah.


	10. Better Than I

Chapter Twelve "Better Than I" 

Mozenrath sat on the ground and looked around at the remains of his ruined citadel. Trying to force back tears, he buried his face in his arms.

I thought I did what's right 

_I thought I had the answers_

_I thought I'd chose the surest road_

But that road brought me here 

Everything he had ever worked for was gone. He felt his life was meaningless now. 'What's the use in going on? My power is gone… there's no hope of getting it back.' The tears were flowing freely now. He cried softly into his arms. Xerxes hovered at his master's shoulder, unsure of what to do.

So I put up a fight 

_And told You how to help me_

_Now just when I have given up_

The truth is coming clear 

Mozenrath felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up.

"Jade?"

"Are you alright?" she asked gently.

He was sure she had left with Aladdin. Yet, she was still here. He furiously wiped away his tears. "I'm fine," he said gruffly.

Jade gave him an unbelieving look. Mozenrath stood and walked away. He stopped at a table and leaned over it, palms flat on the surface. Jade came up beside him. She looked at him a moment, then placed her hands over his arm, comfortingly.

Mozenrath looked at her. "Why are you still here?" he asked. "I have no magic, now. I can't keep you here."

"I made a bargain with you," Jade said. "I intend to keep my word."

Mozenrath looked puzzled. "You had the chance to leave with Aladdin and the others. Yet, you chose to stay here?" Jade nodded. "Why?"

"I have my reasons," she replied.

You know better then I 

_You know the way_

_I've let go the need to know why_

For You know better than I 

Mozenrath shook his head. He looked back at his ruined lab.

"Did you notice how bad the rest of the citadel is, by any chance?" he asked.

"No," Jade said. "But it does look pretty bad out side the lab."

Mozenrath put his gloved hand over his eyes, frustrated. "As if my life weren't screwed up enough," he mumbled.

Jade said nothing. She just looked at him, filled with pity. "I'm sorry."

"You're _sorry_?" Mozenrath repeated. "Why should you be sorry?"

"Because I know what it's like to lose everything."

Mozenrath looked at her. He sighed to himself and placed a hand on Jade's shoulder. She did know. "I guess we have one more thing in common." Xerxes floated over to them. "Come on. Let's go see how bad it really is."

They left the lab. The wandered around the remains of the citadel finding almost every room was destroyed. Mozenrath began to feel even more disheartened.

_If this has been a test_

_I cannot see the reason_

_But, maybe, knowing I don't know_

_Is part of getting through_

They traveled down a corridor that Jade had not been down before. They came to a large set of crumbled double doors, which were almost entirely off their hinges.

"Where are we?" Jade asked.

"This _was_ the green house," Mozenrath said. "I grew all the plants I needed for my potions in here." He opened the doors. "What a surprise…"

All the plants were destroyed. Pieces of wall and roof crushed them. Many were ripped beyond repair. Leaves were scattered everywhere about the room. The group entered the room and looked around at the damage. Mozenrath picked up a piece of a plant.

"Most of these took _years_ to grow!" he yelled. He threw the plant away with all of his strength. He put hours of work into this place and now it was all gone.

Jade continued walking around the room, surveying the damage. Soon she came across a small plant that was still sitting in its pot. The pot was cracked, but mostly intact, as was the plant. It had fallen over a bit and the roots were sticking up out of the dirt. She went over to it. She touched it gently. It could be saved, she realized.

Curiously, she called over to Mozenrath. "My lord? What was this one?"

Mozenrath came over. He looked at the plant carefully. "The Haoman plant!" he sounded excited. "If we can save this one… Maybe all is not lost…"

"What is it?" Jade asked.

"This is the Haoman plant," Mozenrath explained. "When mixed in the proper potion, it has the power to restore things to their original state. It's also known as the healing plant. It can heal wounds and can even restore a wizard's power!" Without thinking, he grabbed Jade by the arms and pulled her to him. He kissed her deeply, surprising the princess. After a minute, he pulled away. "Forgive my enthusiasm," he laughed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

_I try to do what's best_

_And faith has made it easy to see _

_The best thing I can do_

_Is put my trust in You_

Mozenrath immediately began to work on resetting the plant in the pot. Jade watched him, smiling. Xerxes flew up and wrapped around her shoulders.

"Mozenrath happy," he said to her.

"I can see that," Jade said, touching her lips softly.

The sorcerer soon had the plant sitting correctly. "Now, if we can just keep it alive for a few more weeks. In the mean time…" he turned to the other two. "Let's try and get this mess cleaned up."

Jade and Xerxes nodded in agreement. They began to clear away what they could.

_For You know better than I_

_You know the way_

_I've let go the need to know why_

_For You know better than I_

They went around the rest of the citadel, assessing the damage. The throne room was, mostly, still intact. There were a few cracks here and there, but not so much that they couldn't cope. Next they inspected the master bedchamber and the study. Spell books lay everywhere, pages shredded and scattered.

Mozenrath sighed heavily. "Once I get my powers back, I should be able to fix all of this." He looked around his bedchamber. "Well, it looks like I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep."

They continued on, checking all the rooms and corridors. They were surprised to find that Jade's room was still intact. Like the throne room, there were only a few cracks in the walls. Everything else was untouched.

"You could sleep here," Jade suggested. Mozenrath looked at her, grinning. Jade sighed, smacking his shoulder lightly, knowing what he was thinking. "Is _that_ all you ever think about?"

Mozenrath laughed. "Most of the time."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Men…"

"Come on," Mozenrath said. "We should probably start working on the Haoman plant. We'll go down to the oasis and get some clean water."

_I saw one cloud and thought it was the sky_

_I saw a bird and thought that I could follow_

Jade had not been to the oasis before, except for in her dream a week ago. It was just as she had dreamed: a beautiful waterfall creating a stream than poured out into a lake. Wildflowers were everywhere and fruit grew from the giant trees.

"It's very lovely, isn't it?" Mozenrath said from behind her.

"Yes, I love it here," Jade replied. She turned to look at Mozenrath, who was looking very worn. "Are you alright?"

"Yes…" Mozenrath said. He removed his turban and ran a hand through his long, thick hair. "I'm fine." He walked to stand by the edge of the lake. Jade walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm just a little tired, Jade. Most of my energy came from the magic in my gauntlet. Now that it's gone…" He looked down at his right hand. Slowly, he removed the gauntlet.

Jade's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. This was the first time she had ever seen him without the glove on. She stared in horror at the bleach white bones of Mozenrath's right hand, which made an eerie sound as he moved it.

"How…?"

"It's the price one must pay to where the gauntlet," Mozenrath told her. "In order to use its power, I had to give up my right hand. It's because of a curse that Destane put on it. The gauntlet has slowly been draining my life away. Now that it's gone, I don't have more than a few months to live. That's why I need the Haoman plant. If I can get the potion made, my power will be restored. Then I can find a way to break this curse."

He sat down on the bank of the lake, looking out over the water. Jade knelt down beside him. She looked at his hand, then, hesitantly, she placed her hand over the bones.

But it was You who taught that bird to fly If I let You reach me, will You teach me? Mozenrath looked at her, surprised. They looked at each other a moment, then, slowly, they leaned in and kissed softly. 'What's happening to me?' Mozenrath thought. For You know better than I You know the way I've let go the need to why I'll take what answers You supply You know better than I… ("You Know Better Than I" – DreamWorks Joseph: King of Dreams) 


	11. My Confession

Chapter 13 "My Confession"

Jade and Mozenrath suddenly pulled apart. Both of them were dumbstruck by what had just happened. They looked at each other and blushed madly. Mozenrath turned his head, his eyes darting every which way, trying to sort his thoughts.

"Sorry," Jade said.

"Not your fault," Mozenrath replied quickly as he stood up. 'What the Hell is the matter with me!' he thought furiously.

Out of all the times he had kissed the princess, he had never felt anything like what he felt just now. It seemed like fireworks were shooting off all through his body. This was all so knew to him. It felt like… 'No… no that can't be it. Yet… no! Snap out of it, you fool!' He looked back at Jade, who was still sitting on the ground, looking over the water. Something stirred in him, even as he looked at her.

_I have been blind_

_Unwilling_

_To see the true love_

_You're giving_

Jade looked out over the lake, trying to clear her head. She had no idea what had come over her to make her kiss the sorcerer. But as she thought about it, she realized it wasn't the first time she had done so of her own accord. She thought back to just a few hours ago, when they were in the study and she had treated his wounded side.

'Neither of us regretted that moment,' she thought. 'We were acting like it was perfectly normal for us. Like we were…' She gasped silently. 'Could it be that I…? No.'

For weeks she had been trying to convince herself that she felt nothing for the wizard. Yet something nagged her. When she was near him, she couldn't help but feel something for him. Even their first night together, she felt something stir in her heart. She had to admit it, but when she was with him, she felt… safe.

'Safe? That's bizarre. Safe with an evil man like him? But, no… he's not really evil, just misguided perhaps? But why would I feel safe with this man?'

I have ignored every blessing 

_I'm on my knees_

Confessing… 

'Get a grip, Mozenrath!' the sorcerer thought. All this thinking was giving him a headache. He walked over to the trees and leaned back against one. He covered his face with his hands, trying to block out all distractions. He thought back to the last time that he had similar feelings like this for someone else. 'But she hurt you. She betrayed you, Mozenrath! You gave her your heart and she destroyed it! Don't let it happen again! You've done fine all these years without anyone, why change now?' He looked back at Jade. She hadn't moved. 'What should I do? There's just something about her. I don't feel _alone_ when I'm around her.' He then made up his mind.

_That I feel myself surrender_

_Each time I see your face_

_I am staggered by your beauty_

_Your unassuming grace_

_And I feel my heart is turning_

_Falling into place_

_I can't hide it_

_Now hear my confession_

'I just can't let her know. Not yet.'

He walked back over to Jade and sat down beside her.

Jade looked up as she saw him. "Hi," she said softly.

"Hi." Mozenrath's voice sounded different. For a moment, they were silent.

'Okay,' Jade thought, 'I have to tell him. I just hope he doesn't think I'm crazy…'

"Mozenrath?" she said softly. "Can I… can I talk to you about something?"

"What about?" the sorcerer asked.

"About before…" she stopped, trying to gather her thoughts. "When I kissed you…"

"Like I said, it wasn't your fault," Mozenrath said.

"Well… it kind of was…" Mozenrath looked at her. "I've been doing some thinking lately. And I have realized that… when I'm around you, I- well, I feel safe with you. I feel like you're someone I can trust, like when I trusted you all those years ago."

"You trust me?" the necromancer was speechless.

Jade nodded. "There's more to it than that. I've been trying to convince myself otherwise, but… I can't hide it anymore."

"What?" Mozenrath asked gently.

"I have very strong feelings for you. I… I love you, Mozenrath…" It was out.

I have been wrong about you I thought I was strong without you 

Mozenrath was shocked. She _loved_ him? How? Why did she love him? It seemed to him that she was trying to figure that out herself.

"You… you _love me_?" he said. Jade nodded. Mozenrath shook his head, unbelievingly. "No… no you can't love me. No one can." Tears were stinging his eyes as he looked for an excuse. "I'm evil… you can't love someone who's evil."

"You're not evil, Mozenrath," Jade told him. "If you were, you wouldn't care about anything."

"What's makes you think I _do_ care about anything?"

"You care about Xerxes. If you were truly evil, you wouldn't have cared for him like you did when he got sick." She laid her hand over his. "Why do think it's impossible for someone to love you? They could if you let them."

"I did once," Mozenrath choked out. He turned his head as tears streamed down his face. "I let someone who I cared for get close to me. I thought she loved me, but she only used me. She only cared about what I could buy her and my title. That's all she loved was my money. I found this out one night when I went to visit her and I found her in the arms of another man." He buried his face in his arms. "Combine that betrayal with everything Destane had done to me over the years, and you get what you see before you: a shattered man who trusts no one and who vowed to never love anyone ever again!"

For so long 

_Nothing could move me_

_For so long_

Nothing could change me 

Jade felt her own tears fall. Now she understood why he was this way. She couldn't imagine how painful his past had been for him. She moved closer to him. She put her arm around his shoulders and ran a gentle hand through his hair. Mozenrath laid his head on her shoulder, still weeping in self-remorse. Jade held him there, resting her chin atop his head, continuing to stroke his hair.

Now I feel myself surrender 

_Each time I see your face_

_I am captured by your beauty_

_Your unassuming grace_

_And I feel my heart is turning_

_Falling into place_

_I can't hide it_

Now hear my confession 

"Mozenrath… it's okay," Jade said as the necromancer's sobs continued. "Not everyone is like that." She kissed the top of his head. "I want you to be able to trust me, like I trust you." Mozenrath's sobs began to quiet. He raised his head and looked at her. "I love _you_, Mozenrath. Only _you_." She cupped his face in her hands. "I don't care about what you give me, and I have no intention of ever manipulating you into doing whatever I want." She laughed silently. "Lord knows I couldn't even if I tried." She got a small smile out of him with that. "I didn't fall in love with the _sorcerer_ or the _Lord of the Black Sand_… I fell in love with _Mozenrath_, the man who was once the boy that saved my life."

You are the air that I breathe 

_You're the ground beneath my feet_

When did I stop believing? 

Mozenrath wiped away his tears. He looked at Jade a moment, before pulling her into his arms, kissing her deeply.

"Jade… I- I love you, too…"

They held each other tightly, as though never wanting to let go. Tears of happiness rolled down their faces. Jade buried her face in Mozenrath's chest as the sorcerer rubbed her back. He nuzzled her hair and kissed it. Jade tilted her head up and kissed his neck. They looked at each other and smiled. They kissed again, as Mozenrath gently pushed her to the ground. The princess snared her fingers in the necromancer's long, silken hair, holding him in as the kiss continued. She slid her tongue into his mouth and gently caressed his. The two lay together like that for sometime, gently caressing the other's body wherever they could. A small chuckle from nearby finally stopped them. They looked up, spotting the source floating near a tree close by. They sat up.

"XERXES!" Mozenrath roared.

The little eel had been watching them the entire time. He swam over to his master, circling him happily. He nuzzled his little body against Mozenrath's neck, then swam over to Jade and nuzzled her face.

"I guess he's happy for us," she said. Xerxes nodded.

Suddenly, the little eel felt himself being pulled tightly into his master's arms. He squirmed, trying to get away as the sorcerer gave him a noogie. He finally got away and wrapped about his master's shoulders. The three laughed.

Mozenrath pulled Jade against him, and hugged her tightly. He kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Jade."

"I love you, too, Mozenrath."

'Cause I feel myself surrender Each time I see your face 

_I am staggered by your beauty_

_Your unassuming grace_

_And I feel my heart is turning_

_Falling into place_

_I can't hide it_

_Now hear my confession…_

("My Confession" – Josh Groban _Closer_)


	12. In My Arms

Chapter Fourteen "In My Arms"

Mozenrath, Jade and Xerxes returned to the ruined Citadel with some buckets of fresh water for the Haoman plant. Mozenrath took a small dish and filled it with water. He poured it evenly around the plant, then placed some new dirt around the plant to help stabilize it.

"A few weeks of this and the plant should be ready to go for the potion," he said.

"Are you sure it will work?" Jade asked.

Mozenrath turned to her. A look of uncertainty was on his face as well. He put his arms around her and held her against him.

"I hope so," he said quietly.

Jade snaked her arms up around his neck and buried her face deeper against his chest. She sighed softly, which quickly became a yawn.

"Are you tired?" Mozenrath asked. Jade nodded, not moving her head from his chest. "Alright… let's go to bed, then."

They walked through the decimated corridors and up to Jade's room. Once in the room, Xerxes flew over to a comfortable corner of the room, curled up and fell asleep.

Jade walked over to the small wardrobe. Opening it, she pulled out a black nightgown. It had thin straps and silver embroidery on the front. Mozenrath tossed his turban aside, followed by his cloak. He kicked off his boots and slowly removed his shirt, so as not to hurt his wounded side. He turned to look at Jade. He immediately averted his gaze when he saw she was still changing.

Jade saw this and laughed softly. "It's nothing you haven't seen before, Mozenrath." Mozenrath smiled slyly. He turned his eyes back to her. Jade blushed. "That wasn't an invitation for you to stare."

"I like staring at you," the sorcerer replied. He sat down on the bed and watched her finish getting dressed.

Jade walked over to him. She smiled shyly at the necromancer. Mozenrath took her hands in his and looked up at her. A soft smile played around his full lips as he gazed into her eyes. He allowed his eyes to roam over her body, taking her in: Her long, silken locks of brown hair; the shining dark amber eyes; the sweet rose red lips standing out from her honey-toned skin; her flawless hour glass figure showed through the form-fitting nightgown, which was low cut at the top, showing ample cleavage. His eyes rested there a moment, then wandered back up to her face. She was perfect; the only flaws about her were the ones that he himself had created.

"How could I have damaged something so beautiful?" he asked softly, reaching up to stroke her cheek with his gloved hand.

Jade blushed again. She rested her hand over his on her cheek. Mozenrath lowered his hand and the princess felt herself shudder as he traced it down her body, resting it at her hip. He pulled her closer, so she was standing between his parted legs. She looked down and noticed his bandages. They looked soiled. She knelt down to check them. A thin red stain stood out on the white material. She undid the bandage to take a better look.

"Looks like you broke the stitching," she told him.

"Probably from when that ton of rubble fell on me in the lab," Mozenrath said with a hiss as Jade touched the wound. "Will you have to redo it?"

"I don't think so," Jade said. "It was only broken a little. And it looks like the bleeding has already stopped. It just needs to be cleaned and rebandaged."

"How will we do that? Everything was destroyed and I doubt we'll be able to find any medical supplies in those rock piles."

"We'll improvise," Jade said. "I've been in similar situations before."

She stood and took a clean sheet from the bed. She ripped off a few long strips of the fabric. She walked over to the fountain and dipped a piece of cloth into the water. She rang it out and went back over to Mozenrath. She dabbed the wound lightly, cleaning up the dried blood. Then she took the longer piece and wrapped it around his ribs. After she tied it off, she placed her hand on his side, gently rubbing away some of the pain.

"Thank you," Mozenrath said.

Jade smiled at him then sat down beside him on the bed. Mozenrath turned so that he was facing her. He wrapped his arms around her and lay back against the pillows, bringing her with him. Jade giggled quietly as he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. They pulled the blankets up around them, tightly. Jade turned in Mozenrath's arms, pressing herself against his body. The wizard tightened his hold on her. They kissed softly and drifted off to sleep.

In your arms, I find the courage 

_In your arms, I gather strength_

_Have you heard? Have I told you?_

_I just want to hold you_

Grow old with you in my arms 

As the days went by, the group continued its care of the Haoman plant. Without the power from the gauntlet, Mozenrath felt his strength slowly beginning to leave him. But, that was the least of his concerns. Jade was beginning to show signs of illness. She was feeling extremely weak and was constantly tired. One night, as they lay curled up in bed, asleep, Jade's soft moaning awakened Mozenrath.

He gently shook her awake. "Jade?… Jade, wake up…"

Jade moaned a bit louder before opening her eyes. She looked up at him. "… Lord Mozenrath?…" she said weakly.

"Jade, are you okay?" the sorcerer asked.

She could hear the concern in his voice that was reflected in his moonlit eyes. Slowly she shook her head negatively. "No…"

Mozenrath put his hand to her forehead. She was hot, burning! He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "What's wrong?"

"I feel horrible…" she said.

"Anywhere in particular?"

"Everywhere…" she groaned softly. She began to shiver and snuggled closer to him. "…My lord… I'm cold…"

"But you're burning up…" Mozenrath stopped in mid-sentence as Jade hissed in pain.

The princess squirmed in his arms. A sharp pain just shot throughout her entire body. She ached all over. She began moaning softly again. "Lord Mozenrath…" she whimpered.

"Shhh." Mozenrath rubbed her back softly. "It's okay. I'm right here. Where does it hurt?"

"All over…" she was crying now. Mozenrath held her tightly against him. "…Please… make it stop…"

"Believe me, Jade, I would," the necromancer said. "Really, I would. But I don't know what to do." Jade continued to whimper. "All I can do is try to keep you warm." He slid out of their embrace and got out of bed. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Jade asked, now frightened at suddenly being abandoned.

"I'm just going to get a few more blankets. I'm not going far."

He walked over to a closet and pulled out the thickest blankets he could find. He brought them back over to the bed, where Jade lay curled up and shivering. He draped five thick blankets over top of the others. He climbed back into bed and pulled them up over Jade and himself. He pulled Jade against him and wrapped the blankets tightly around them. He rubbed her back and arms a little, trying to warm her up.

"Are you warmer?" he asked.

"A little," Jade replied softly.

Determined to get her warm, Mozenrath draped one leg over hers, bringing her closer to him so he was practically lying on top of her. He held her tightly and readjusted the blankets so they were tight around them. Then the sorcerer continued rubbing Jade's body.

"Better?" he asked.

Jade nodded. She burrowed deeper against him, so there was not an inch of space between them. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," Mozenrath replied. "Now, you just stay close to me, okay? I'll keep you warm."

So for the remainder of the night, Mozenrath and Jade stayed that way, trying to keep the princess warm. Thoughts raced through Mozenrath's head about what could be wrong with his young lover. Then it came to him. He recognized these symptoms; He'd had them once before as a child! The virus was deadly, but his grandfather had made a particular potion and his five-year-old grandson had been spared. Mozenrath remembered the ingredients and the steps needed to be taken. He could make it, no problem. But, he didn't have any of the ingredients here. He would have to go and find them. Without his magic, that would take a while, and he wouldn't leave Jade alone for so long. What would he do with her? There was only one possibility:

"Aladdin…" he would take Jade back to Agrabah… tomorrow.

In your arms, I hide no secrets 

_In your arms, I feel no fears_

_There is something so right_

_With you here tonight_

_When I'm holding you in_

_My whole world starts to spin_

When I'm holding you in my arms 

When Jade awoke the next morning, she found that Mozenrath was not in bed. She was still wrapped tightly in the blankets and she soon realized that she was no longer dressed in her black nightgown. She was fully dressed in a low long sleeve blue shirt and white pants, both of which had gold riming with black diamond and "S" shaped designs on them.

'Mozenrath…' she thought. She sat up slightly and looked around for the sorcerer.

He was seated at the desk, writing something down. He must have heard her, because he turned and looked at her. "How are you feeling, Jade?" he asked getting up. He walked over and sat down beside her.

"Terrible…" Jade admitted.

Mozenrath felt her forehead. She was still very hot. He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know how to make you feel better," Mozenrath said. "I had the same illness when I was a boy. My dear grandfather made a potion for me that made me well again within a few days. I just have to go out and gather ingredients. It may take me a day or so."

"What about me?" Jade asked.

"I'm going to leave you at the palace in Agrabah." Jade looked at him. "I don't have a choice."

"They'll never let me come back with you," Jade said.

"As far as they know, you're still my servant," Mozenrath said. "And because I'll be saving your life with the potion…"

"We can say that I owe a life debt," Jade finished.

"Exactly," Mozenrath said. "Now come. The sooner I get you to Agrabah, the sooner I get the potion ready."

Mozenrath helped her to her feet. He took one of the blankets off of the bed and wrapped it around her. He swept her up in his arms and carried her outside to the stables.

Midnight stood, saddled and waiting for his master, Xerxes floating close by. The sorcerer put the princess up on the horse's back and swung himself into the saddle behind her. Holding her with one arm and holding the reins in the other hand, Mozenrath dug his heels into the stallion's sides and rode out towards Agrabah.

"No sign of Princess Jade yet, Your Highness," Rasoul reported.

"I'm beginning to think that she stayed at the Citadel," Iago said.

Every guard in the kingdom had been searching the desert for Jade since the night Aladdin came back from Mozenrath's kingdom with Genie and Eden.

"I was hoping that she might have been able to escape," Aladdin said. He was feeling terrible about not finding her himself.

"Jade was always about keeping her word, Aladdin," Jasmine said. "She made a deal with Mozenrath and she was going to hold to it."

"But you saw how he treats her," Aladdin said.

"I know…"

She stopped in mid-sentence when the doors of the throne room burst open. A handsome black stallion stood in the doorway, bearing two riders. One, a man, dismounted and helped the young woman down. Carrying her in his arms, he walked towards them. Everyone took a step back when they realized that it was the Lord of the Black Sand. They looked at the young woman in his arms.

"Jade!" Jasmine exclaimed.

Jade was wrapped tightly in a thick blanket and her arms were looped around Mozenrath's neck, her head resting on his shoulder. Xerxes growled at them over his master's shoulder.

"What's going on here?" the sultan asked.

"What have you done to her!" Aladdin said.

"I didn't do anything, street rat!" Mozenrath defended. "She's seriously ill. I brought her here because I knew you would take care of her until I could get a cure made. Because my Citadel was destroyed, I don't have the necessary elements for it; I have to go and find them. If I came back and found her dead, I've wasted time."

"How can we trust you?" Genie said.

"For her sake, you _will_. I know you won't let her die. Especially not you, princess." Jade shivered in his arms and he turned his attention to her. She looked up at him, her eyes full of pain. His heart bled, but he wouldn't let the others see his weakness. He looked back at Jasmine. "Now, if you'll lead me to her room, I'll tell you what you need to do."

Jasmine nodded. She led Mozenrath to the room Jade occupied before she left, followed by the others. They entered the room and Mozenrath walked over to the bed. He lay the ill princess down and pulled the blankets up over her.

"What's wrong with her?" Jasmine asked, sitting down next to her friend.

"She has a very serious illness," Mozenrath explained. "It causes a high fever, but also causes the temperature of the body to drop. Also, it causes sudden sharp pains throughout the entire body. I had once as a child, but I was given the antidote in time."

"What do we have to do?" Jasmine asked, looking down at Jade.

"If her body temperature keeps dropping, she'll die," Mozenrath said. "The most you can do is try to keep her as warm as possible. Every two or three hours, get her into a hot bath and let her soak for about a half-hour. When she's resting, and make sure she gets plenty of it, keep several thick blankets over her. And, if you have to, one you lay next to her so she can share your body heat. In fact, since he has fur, you may want to have the tiger do that."

"You mentioned her getting sharp pains all over her body," the sultan said.

"Yes. I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done about that," Mozenrath said. He looked at Jade. "She'll have to tough that out on her own."

"How long will it take for you to get the cure?" Aladdin asked.

"It will only take a few hours to _make_ it. Finding the ingredients will take a day or so."

Aladdin was silent for a moment. "I'll go with you," he said finally. "We'll get them a lot faster if two of us are looking."

Mozenrath was about to protest, when a soft whimper from Jade distracted him. He leaned down close so he could hear what she was saying. "Let him help you…"

"Alright," he breathed.

Xerxes came over and wrapped himself around Mozenrath's shoulders. "Let's go," the eel said.

"Oh, no," Mozenrath said. "You're staying here." Xerxes looked hurt. "I want you to look after Jade. Can you do that?"

The little eel nodded. He floated over to Jade and curled up beside her. "Xerxes take care."

Mozenrath brushed a lock of hair out of Jade's eyes. When no one was looking he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back soon… I promise."

Jade only nodded her understanding. Mozenrath stood and walked over to Aladdin, who was hugging Jasmine.

"It'll be all right, Jazz," he said. He kissed her softly. "We won't be long."

"Come on, Aladdin," Mozenrath said. "We're wasting time."

They turned to leave. Just before they reached the door of to the room, Jade began moaning in pain. They turned and looked at her.

"Lord Mozenrath…" she whispered. "…Lord Mozenrath…"

Mozenrath went back to her. He knelt down beside her. "I'll be back, Jade," he said. "I swear."

Jade nodded. Mozenrath felt his heart break at the look she was giving him. A shaky hand reached up to touch his cheek. "… Be careful, my Lord…"

"I will," Mozenrath said softly. He kissed her hand and stood. He walked back to Aladdin and the two left.

If this is a dream, don't wake me 

_(Have I been here before?)_

_If I give myself, just take me_

_(I know I've seen you before) _

Aladdin swung himself onto Carpet as Mozenrath climbed back into Midnight's saddle.

"Where to first?" Aladdin asked.

"Quirkistan," Mozenrath said. He clicked softly to Midnight and started out of the city.

"We'll get there faster on Carpet," Aladdin suggested, when they reached the gate.

"Midnight's much faster than any old rug," Mozenrath said.

To prove his point, Mozenrath jerked the reins, causing the horse to rear up and whinny. When he touched back to earth, he darted out through the gate at an incredibly fast pace.

"Carpet, let's move!"

With my eyes, I feel you 

_With ev'ry breath reveal you_

_My ev'rything _

_There is nothing more_

_You are all that I feel_

_There is nothing more real_

When I'm holding you in my arms… 

("In My Arms" – Warner Bros. Animated film _The Scarecrow_)


	13. The Family of Mozenrath

Chapter Fifteen "The Family of Mozenrath" 

It was half a day's journey to Quirkistan. Aladdin and Mozenrath made their way to the palace to speak with the king, whom had at least three of the ingredients for the potion.

"What do you need them for?" the king asked.

"A friend is very sick, Your Majesty," Aladdin said. "We need them to make a potion to save her life."

"Who is this friend of yours?"

"Princess Jade," Mozenrath said.

"Princess Jade!" the king declared. "Of course you may have them!" He sent a servant to fetch the ingredients. "What's wrong with Jade?" Mozenrath explained the situation. "Oh, the poor girl. I have heard of this disease before. The great Fasir came here several years ago for the same reason. He needed to make the potion for his young grandson. The boy got just in time, too. Any later and he would have died."

"Yes…" Mozenrath said to himself. "… he would have…"

"Something wrong?" the king asked him.

"No," Mozenrath said. "I, uh… I was just trying to think of where we can find the other ingredients."

"You might be able to some iris plants at the oasis five miles northeast of the city," the king replied, as the servant returned and gave the herbs to the wizard.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Mozenrath and Aladdin said.

They bowed and left the palace. They left the city and followed the king's directions to the oasis. Once there, they split up and searched for the iris plant.

Aladdin thought about what Mozenrath had said back in Quirkistan when the king mentioned Fasir's grandson.

"It would explain where he got his magic from," he said to Carpet.

Carpet stopped and pointed a tassel towards a tree. Sprouting up from the roots were some purple leaves.

"The iris plant!" Aladdin said. "Way to go, Carpet!"

They went over and began picking a few of them. Then they went back to find Mozenrath. The sorcerer saw them coming with a few pickings of the plant.

"Good, you found some more," he said. He took the plants from Aladdin and placed them in the saddlebag with the little he had picked. "I couldn't find very much, but I did find one of the other plants." He showed them some red roots.

"How many more do we need?"

"Four."

"Where do we go from here?"

Mozenrath glanced up at the sky. Twilight was beginning to descend upon them. "We can get one more tonight," he said. "And we just have to stay here."

"What do…" Aladdin stopped when a bright golden glow suddenly appeared behind him. He turned. Several golden flowers had bloomed behind him. "Where did those come from?"

"It's the night flower," Mozenrath explained. He walked over and picked a few. "They only appear at night. The light from the moon makes them bloom and the sun's rays cause them to close during the day. They are only useful when they are open."

"Will they close up after you've picked them?" Aladdin asked.

"No." Mozenrath came back over and placed the flowers in with the others.

"We'll stay here for the night," Mozenrath said. "We can continue in the morning."

"Alright," Aladdin said. He began getting a fire going. "It's kinda cold tonight, huh?" he said as the little group sat around the fire. "I hope Jade will be okay."

Mozenrath said nothing. He was staringinto the flames, his black eyes reflecting the soft orangish glow. He pulled his cloak tightly about him and lay down on the ground with a sigh. Aladdin watched him. The sorcerer was certainly acting different. He hadn't even made one of his usual sarcastic comments about Aladdin and the others all day.

"Mozenrath?" Aladdin asked.

The sorcerer tore his gaze from the fire and looked at Aladdin. "What?" his tone was soft, tired sounding.

"Can I ask you something?" Mozenrath nodded. "I'm just curious, but is Fasir your grandfather?" Mozenrath looked at him a moment. "I was just wondering. You had mentioned having the same illness as Jade when you were a kid, and when the king said that Fasir's grandson had the same illness a few years back, you got quiet."

Mozenrath said nothing. Then he spoke up. "Yes. Fasir is my grandfather. And Amala, the fey queen, is my grandmother. They are my father's parents."

"Who is your father?"

"I'm really tired, Aladdin," Mozenrath said. "Can we discuss this another time?"

"Sorry."

"It's fine. I just don't like talking about my father much anymore… he's dead."

"Oh," Aladdin said silently. "I'm sorry…"

"Go to sleep," Mozenrath said, closing his eyes. "We have a busy day tomorrow." He drifted off into a fitful sleep. Aladdin and Carpet followed suit.

Jade shivered under the blankets and moaned softly. Jasmine sat next to her, keeping a constant vigil. Rajah lay beside the ailing princess, doing his best to keep her warm. The tiger shared a worried look with his owner as Jade squirmed beneath the blankets, cold and in pain. Jasmine lay her hand on Jade's forehead to let her know that she and Rajah were still there.

Genie came in with a few extra blankets and laid them over top of her.

"How's she doing?" he asked.

"Not well," Jasmine replied. She buried her face in her hands, frustrated and worried. Jade was like a sister to her. She would never forgive herself if she died. She felt a large, gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jazz," Genie said. "Al and Mozen-rotten will be back soon and the wizard will make the cure for her."

"No disrespect Master!" came a groggy voice. They turned around as Xerxes floated up to them. He had heard the "Mozen-rotten" comment and was not too pleased with it. "Master make potion for princess! He not have to, but will."

"Yeah, yeah… we know, Wonder Slug," Iago said, flying in and landing on the table nearby. Xerxes shot him a glare.

"Why so mean to Master?" Xerxes said. "Your fault Mozenrath want to destroy you."

"How is it _our_ fault?" Genie asked.

"Thirdak," Xerxes said, reminding them of their first meeting.

"Oh, yeah…"

"Master nice if get to know him," the eel said, floating over to Jade. He looked at her a moment with sad eyes. He nudged her head a little with his snout. "Master be back soon, Mistress," he whispered to her. He had taken to calling her that now, due to hers and his master's secret courtship.

Jade shifted and moaned softly. "Xerxes?" she said, opening her eyes slowly. She had heard his voice.

"Here," the little eel assured her. Ignoring the warning growl from Rajah, of which he returned with one of his own, he curled up next to Jade's head. "Xerxes here. Take care 'til Master come."

Jade smiled weakly at the little familiar. She reached up a weak hand and stroked him as Mozenrath usually did. The eel purred softly and nudged her hand.

Mozenrath tossed and turned for most of the night. He kept having dreams about Jade, and they weren't pleasant. The next morning he felt himself being shaken awake by Aladdin.

"Hey, it's dawn… time to wake up."

Mozenrath sat up, rubbing his eyes with a gloved thumb and index finger. He yawned loudly, making Aladdin jump. Midnight trotted up to his master and nudged him, as if to say "Good morning." The sorcerer stood.

"Good morning to you, too," he said patting the horse's nose.

"Where to now?" Aladdin asked.

Mozenrath thought a moment. "Jasmine," he said softly.

Aladdin did a double take. "What-?"

Mozenrath sighed. "You do know that's the name of wildflower, don't you?"

"Oh… yeah… That's what we need next then?" Mozenrath nodded. "Well, that grows all over the place. Shouldn't be to hard to find it."

Let's get started then, shall we?"

Mozenrath climbed into Midnight's saddle as Aladdin swung onto Carpet. The headed back out into the desert. They rode for a while before coming across some white flowers springing up from the sand. Aladdin picked a few handfuls and gave them to Mozenrath, who placed them in the saddlebag.

"Now what?"

"Now we need to get two potions to add in," Mozenrath said.

"And where are you going to get them?" Aladdin asked.

Mozenrath said nothing. He looked up at the sky and sighed. He gave Aladdin a quick glance, then drew in a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"_MOTHER!_"

Aladdin stared at him a moment. A great flame shot up in front of them, and he threw his arm up to shield his eyes. Startled, Midnight reared nearly throwing his rider. Mozenrath, however, was able to keep his seat and got the stallion under control. He stroked the horse's neck and leaned forward. He spoke a few words to calm him. Midnight's red eyes flickered at him in the fire. The sorcerer smiled and gave him one last pat.

"You don't have to yell so loud, Moze," a voice purred from the flames.

"Mirage…" Aladdin said, recognizing the voice.

The flames died away and before them stood the cat incarnate. Mozenrath dismounted and walked over to her. Mirage looked annoyed with him at first, then broke into a small loving smile, which he returned. The two embraced tightly, forgetting Aladdin and Carpet.

"Oh… my little kitten," Mirage purred in the sorcerer's ear.

"Mother…" Mozenrath's voice was a mix of sadness and relief. He pulled away with a few tears in his eyes.

"Shhh…" Mirage said, wiping his tears away. "What's wrong, baby cat?"

"I need your help…" Mozenrath said. "Do you remember the potion that Grandfather made for me when I was little?"

"Yes."

"I need the final two potions that need to be put into it."

"Come to Morbia and we'll see if I have them," Mirage said. With that, she transported them to her kingdom.

Her fire cats guarded the entrance to her palace. They began hissing and growling upon seeing Aladdin.

"Seems they remember you, Aladdin," Mirage said laughed.

Aladdin backed away as one advanced on him, but Mozenrath came to his rescue.

"Leave him alone," he told the cat, lazily. "He's with me."

The fire cat looked at the young sorcerer a moment. Then, letting it flames die down, it purred and rubbed against him, recognizing him as the prince of Morbia. It backed away and bowed, returning to its post.

"They always were fond of you, Mozenrath," Mirage said. She led them into her palace. "So why do you need to make the potion?"

"Someone I know caught the same disease I once had," Mozenrath explained. "I need the potion to save her."

'Her?' Mirage thought. "So, why is the street rat with you?" 

"Because she also a friend of mine," Aladdin said.

"Ah." Mirage looked at her son. He looked extremely troubled. She moved closer to him and spoke in a low voice so Aladdin couldn't hear. "Do you have feelings for this girl, Moze?" Mozenrath blushed slightly at being asked such a personal question by his own mother. He nodded. Mirage could see in his eyes that it was more tan just a friendship or a crush. "You _love_ her." The young prince of Morbia turned a brighter shade of red. He nodded and his mother laughed silently. "Alright, let's go see if I happen to have a bottle or two of those potions." She led them to the laboratory. They searched the shelves for the potions Mozenrath said he needed. They only found one.

"Are you sure you don't have the other one?" Mozenrath asked his mother.

Mirage nodded. "I'm sorry, Moze." Mozenrath gave a frustrated sigh. "You know where you might be able to find it?" Mirage said thoughtfully.

Mozenrath looked up. "Where?"

"In your father's old lab. He usually kept a few of those potions around in case of an emergency."

Mozenrath perked up. "Maybe…" He hugged Mirage tightly. "Thank you, Mother…"

"Good luck, sweetie cat." Mirage transported her son and Aladdin back to the desert.

Once they were gone, she smiled to herself. She left the lab and went to her bedchamber. On the wall was a portrait of her and her late husband with a much younger Mozenrath. He was only around six in the painting. She smiled looking at him and thinking of how much he had grown. In the portrait he had the same features as his adult self, with a few extras: two little pointed black ears stuck up from his curly black hair and long bushy black tail, the features he had inherited from her. His eyes, however, had come from his father. Every time she looked at this portrait, a tear or two came to her eyes; her family, she had to admit, was her only weakness.

She touched the painted figure of her husband and sighed.

"He would be proud," came a voice from behind her.

"Hello, Fasir," Mirage said, without turning around. She knew it was her father-in-law. She felt his hand on her shoulder. "Yes, he would be proud."

"The boy will go through several more trials before he can live peacefully with the princess," Fasir said.

"Why must it be him to go through all of this?" Mirage asked. "Why couldn't Fate have chosen someone else? He's been through enough for one lifetime."

"Now, now," Fasir said comfortingly. "Mozenrath is a strong young man. He comes from a powerful bloodline. And remember, he defeated Destane at the age of fifteen."

This seemed to comfort Mirage and she smiled.

"We can help him to the best of our ability," Fasir continued. "But the final battle is his and his alone."


	14. Cured

Chapter Sixteen "Cured" 

Mozenrath and Aladdin raced back to Agrabah. Aladdin was laying flat on his stomach for Carpet was flying at top speed and he didn't wish to fall off. Mozenrath was leaning forward as far as he could on Midnight's back, giving lest wind resistance so the stallion could gallop faster, his cape flapping wildly in the wind behind him.

"Where can in the palace can I make the potion?" he asked Aladdin.

"In Jafar's laboratory," Aladdin said. "It's in one of the high towers."

"Take me there when we get back," Mozenrath said.

They sped through the gates of the city and charged through the streets to the palace. They nearly ran several people over and destroyed more than a few goods. Several merchants and buyers shouted as they went by. Things like "watch where you're going!" "Ruffians!" "You're going to pay for that!" and "The guards will hear of this!" were some of the distinguishable phrases in their angry yells.

When they got to the palace, Aladdin led Mozenrath to Jafar's old laboratory. The sorcerer immediately began working on making the potion. Leaving him to his work Aladdin went to find the others.

Jasmine and Eden helped Jade out of the bathtub, dried her and dressed her some warm clothing. Once she was dressed, they called for Genie, who carried her back to bed. They covered her with the thick blankets. Iago and Abu through some more wood into the fireplace.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned.

"Aladdin!" Jasmine ran towards her boyfriend and jumped into his arms. The two embraced warmly. "Where's Mozenrath?"

"I took him up to Jafar's lab," Aladdin explained. "He's working on the potion right now. How's Jade doing?"

"Not so good," Jasmine said. "I don't think she'll make it."

"Don't worry," Aladdin said. "She'll be just fine."

Jade began moaning in pain. "Mozenrath…" she whispered. "Mozenrath… Mozenrath… Mozenrath…"

Aladdin was surprised. "She's been doing that a lot lately," Genie said.

"Yeah," Iago said, perching himself on Aladdin's shoulder. "Ever since you and Mr. Magic left."

"Like that psycho would comfort her," Eden said.

A hiss sounded behind her. "Oops," Genie said. "Sorry, little Wonder Slug."

Xerxes glared at all of them. His glare turned into a bright smile as he looked behind them. "Master!" He darted towards Mozenrath, who was standing in the doorway. Everyone turned to see Xerxes wrap around the sorcerer's shoulders and nuzzle against his neck, purring. "Master back. Master back…"

"You missed me, huh?" Mozenrath smiled, stroking the familiar. Xerxes nodded.

Mozenrath walked passed the others and knelt down next to the bed where Jade lay. He placed his hand on her forehead.

"Where's the potion?" Jasmine asked.

"It has to brew for about five hours," Mozenrath said, his eyes not leaving Jade. He stroked her head gently. "I'm back, Jade," he said quietly.

Jade stirred. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Lord Mozenrath?…" she said softly.

"Shhh…" Mozenrath put his finger over her lips. "Yes, it's me. I told you I'd come back." Jade smiled. "How are feeling?"

"Terrible," Jade said. "I don't think I can make it…"

"Don't talk like that!" Mozenrath snapped. Then more gently, he said, "You'll be fine. Just hold on for a few more hours. The potion will be ready then."

Jade took hold of his gloved hand and squeezed it lightly. Her eyes lost focus and her head fell to the side, facing away from him. Mozenrath continued to hold her hand as she slept. He felt tears rising in his eyes, but forced them back. He wouldn't cry; not in front of the street rat and the others.

"Mozenrath?" Aladdin asked. "Did you get the last ingredient by any chance?"

"Oh, damn!" Mozenrath said. "How I could I be so stupid? I'm such a fool!" He turned to Aladdin and gave him a look that said 'Oh, come on. I'm not that dumb…' He looked back at Jade. "We lucked out. Jafar has it in his lab. It needs to be added right before I give Jade the potion."

"I hope it works," Jasmine said, hugging Aladdin.

"It will, Princess," Mozenrath said. He continued watching Jade sleep. "Why don't the all of you go and rest," he suggested. "I'll watch her."

The others were slightly surprised by this, but decided to follow his advice. Once they were gone, Mozenrath laid down on the bed next to Jade. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against his body. He rested his forehead against hers.

"I'm here, Jade," he whispered. "I'm going to get you better, I promise." His tears were falling now. "I won't give up on you. You know how stubborn I am; I refuse to lose you." He kissed her lips softly. Subconsciously, Jade sighed and shifted slightly in his embrace. "I love you, Jade."

"Mmmm," Jade said, as if answering him in her sleep.

"Is it ready?" Iago asked.

Mozenrath had asked the parrot to assist he and Xerxes up in the lab. Jasmine and Eden were taking care of Jade.

"Yes," Mozenrath sighed, relieved. He took the golden goblet that he had brought up with him and filled it with the potion.

As the sorcerer went to retrieve the final element, Xerxes and Iago took a sniff at the potion. It had a sweet smell to it, unlike most others. It was relaxing and very familiar to Iago.

"Now I remember!" he said.

"Remember what?" Mozenrath asked.

"This illness, where I've heard of it before," Iago explained. "The smell of this potion reminded me… Jafar's son had it."

Mozenrath froze. "His son, huh?"

"Yeah," Iago said, remembering. "Great kid. Disappeared years ago, though. Jafar had to send him away to keep him safe. Some powerful wizard was after him. Yep, I remember him. Kinda skinny, black hair, midnight eyes, somewhat of a pale complexion. Sort of got that from Jafar. He was about nine I think when I last saw him."

"Eight, actually," Mozenrath said.

Iago looked at him. "How would you know?"

"Think about the description you just gave and ask me again how I know," Mozenrath replied.

Iago did as he looked at the young sorcerer. His eyes widened. "AHHHH. IT'S YOU! YOU'RE JAFAR'S SON!"

"And people say you're dumb," Mozenrath said, grabbing the potion and heading out of the lab. "Just don't say a word of it to your friends."

"Uh, yeah sure, no problem," the parrot said, perching on Mozenrath's shoulder. "But what happened to ya, kid? You were such a nice guy. Like Aladdin only younger…"

"Don't ever compare me to that _street rat_!" Mozenrath snapped.

"Well, excuuuuse me!" Iago said. "But, it's true, whether you like it or not. And you know it!" Mozenrath knew he was right. "Seriously though, Moze, what happened? Jafar heard you were captured by Destane and went crazy when he was told you were dead."

"Father thought I was dead?" Mozenrath asked.

"Yeah," Iago said. 'That's what made him go evil. After a while, the rest of the palace forgot about you."

"Let's not talk about this now," Mozenrath said as Rasoul approached them.

"Do you have the potion, wizard?" he demanded.

"Yes," Mozenrath growled. "Now get out of my way so I can give to the princess."

Rasoul followed him to Jade's room, where the others were waiting anxiously. Mozenrath walked over to the bed. Jade was squirming under the covers in pain. The sorcerer added the final ingredient to the potion. He placed the vile on the table by the bed and sat down next to Jade.

"Jade," he said. She looked at him. She looked terrible: dark hollows under her eyes, which had lost their sparkle; her honey skin was almost as pale as his own; she looked very thin, as though she hadn't eaten in months. Mozenrath slipped one arm around her shoulders and sat her up gently. Keeping the supportive arm around her, he brought the goblet to her pale lips. "Drink this," he told her. "You'll start feeling better in no time."

Jade parted her lips slightly and drank the potion, stopping for a breath after every swallow until it was gone. She laid her head against Mozenrath's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"How long until it starts working?" the sultan asked.

"Anytime now," the sorcerer replied, not taking his eyes off of Jade.

Jade's eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Mozenrath and gave him a small smile. "Hi."

"Welcome back, princess," Mozenrath said, smiling back. She was already starting to look better. "How do you feel?"

"I think that potion is working," Jade replied. Then quietly she said, "I owe you my life."

"Yes you do," Mozenrath said, a bit louder. He winked at her, reminding her of their discussion from before. She nodded in understanding. "I saved your life. Now you must repay me. You will return, with me, to my kingdom and continue to serve me."

"Over my dead body!" Aladdin said.

"If you insist, Aladdin," Mozenrath said. He reached for the dagger in his belt.

Jade grabbed his hand. "No, my Lord," she pleaded. "I will return with you."

"Jade, no," Jasmine said. "You can't do this again."

"I have to, Jazz," Jade said. "Lord Mozenrath saved my life. I owe him a life debt."

"And since she is my slave already…" Mozenrath reminded them.

"We're not going to let you take her away again," Jasmine said.

"You have no choice," Mozenrath said, standing. "This is a debt of honor. There's nothing you can do."

"Then let her stay until she's fully recovered, at least," Aladdin said.

"I think she's well enough to make the trip," the sorcerer replied. "If the potion does its job, she'll be back to full health by tomorrow." The others knew there was no hope of getting Mozenrath to change his mind. Mozenrath grinned triumphantly. "Come, Jade," he said. "Get dressed. We're going home."

"Yes, Master," Jade said softly as she suppressed a smile.

The others left to give her privacy. She dressed and joined them in the throne room, where Aladdin and Rasoul looked about ready to murder Mozenrath. She walked over to the necromancer.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Could I say good bye to them since I may not see them again?" Jade asked silently.

Mozenrath looked at her a moment, debating. He nodded. "But be quick about it. We have work to do."

Jade went to her friends. She hugged each of them in turn and thanked them for caring for her. She spent the most time hugging Jasmine and the sultan, whom she considered family. Wiping tears from her eyes, she went back to Mozenrath.

"I'm ready now, my Lord," she said, her head bowed.

Giving Aladdin and company one last triumphant look, Mozenrath led Jade from the palace and the two mounted Midnight. Then, with Xerxes, the they left the kingdom and returned to the Land of the Black Sand.


	15. The Music of the Night

Chapter 17 "The Music of the Night"

Mozenrath sat cross legged on his throne, his head resting in his gloved hand. He was extremely bored today. Jade was in her room taking a nap, for she was still tired from her illness. The Lord of the Black Sands absently stroked his familiar as he tried to decide what to do to keep himself amused. A thought suddenly came to his mind.

"Why not?" he said aloud. He stood up. "I haven't done that for a while."

Xerxes watched as his master left the throne room. Curious as to where he was going, he followed Mozenrath to a part of the Citadel that was rarely visited. Mozenrath stopped at what appeared to be a dead end. He took a torch from it holster on the wall and the dead end opened, revealing a hidden staircase. The two traveled down it and entered Mozenrath's secret chamber. The sorcerer walked around the room lighting the candles that were scattered throughout. When the whole place was lit up, Xerxes was taken aback. It had been so long since he had been down here, he'd forgotten about Mozenrath's secret music room. Yes, his **music** room. Mozenrath was, unknown to anyone outside the Citadel, the greatest musician in the seven deserts.

Xerxes looked around the room, refreshing his memory of the surroundings. A desk in one corner upon which sat a candelabra holding five candles; music stands everywhere; a small variety of musical instruments; sheet music covering everything. And over against a far wall was the pipe organ, Mozenrath's favorite instrument of all. On it were unfinished scores, candles glued to the top of the instrument by dried up puddles of wax, and a random statue, or bust rather. Xerxes had forgotten how much he liked this room. It was so quiet and secluded from the outside world.

Mozenrath threw his cloak and turban aside and sat down at the organ. He tested the tune as he decided what to play first. He started playing from the random scores in front of him. The beautiful music flowed out of the chamber and up to the ears of a sleeping princess.

Jade heard the music and left the room to find out where it was coming from. She followed the sound to the open passage way. Deciding to be bold, she ventured down into the depths of the Citadel. What she saw when she reached the bottom shocked her. Mozenrath sitting and playing an organ with Xerxes hovering close by. Mozenrath's eyes were closed, his back arched slightly, and his head tilted back a little, utterly absorbed in his music. Jade stood there, listening to the beautiful notes, surprised that the Lord of the Black Sands had this kind of talent. The music changed to a soft song, and what happened next shocked her beyond belief… Mozenrath began singing in a beautiful, yet haunting, voice.

_Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation . . .  
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination . . .   
Silently the senses abandon their defenses . . .  
_

During the short musical interval, he turned and looked at her, never faltering in his playing. He smiled at her and began singing again.

_Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor . . .  
Grasp it, sense it -  
tremulous and tender . . .   
Turn your face away from the garish light of day,  
turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light -  
and listen to the music of the night . . .  
_

Jade came closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!  
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!  
Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar. . .  
And you'll live as you've never lived before . . .  
_

Mozenrath turned back to look at her again. He stood and began walking around her, slowly, every now and again he caressed her face with his gloved hand. Even though he stopped playing, the music continued as he sang…

_Softly, deftly, music shall caress you . . .  
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you . . .  
Open up your mind,  
let your fantasies unwind,  
in this darkness that you know you cannot fight -  
the darkness of the music of the night . . .  
_

_Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world!  
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before!  
Let your soul take you where you long to be!. . .  
Only then can you belong to me . . .  
_

He stopped behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her from behind. Jade felt as though she were in a trance as his hands caressed the full of her upper body. She relaxed into his touch, leaning her head back against his shoulder, her eyes closed.

_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication!  
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation!  
Let the dream begin,  
let your darker side give in  
to the power of the music that I write -  
the power of the music of the night . . .  
_

During the longer musical interval at this point, Mozenrath turned her around in his arms, took her hand in his, and led her in a small, graceful dance around the chamber. Then he stopped and, cupping her face in his hands, finished the song.

_You alone can make my song take flight -  
Help me make the music of the night . . ._

He held the final note longer than any singer she had ever met could. As he held it, he very slowly leaned in and kissed her, ending the song. They broke the kiss after a minute. He continued to gaze into her eyes, his own glazed over with passion. She gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," he whispered.

"It's alright," Jade replied quietly. She leaned her head against his chest and sighed. "That was beautiful, Mozenrath. Did you write that?"

"Yes," Mozenrath replied. "A long time ago. When love was still a part of my life."

"Is love not a part of your life now?" Jade asked, looking up into his eyes.

"It has been, ever since you came into it," the necromancer replied, gently. "Would you like to hear more?"

"What else have you written, my Lord?" Jade smiled.

Mozenrath smiled and led her back to the organ, where Xerxes lay on top of it, out cold. The two laughed quietly. "Looks like you sung him to sleep," the princess said.

"I do that a lot," Mozenrath said. He picked up the eel gently and cradled him in his arms. "That was the only way to get him to sleep when he was an infant. Otherwise, he would be up all night either pestering me to play with him or he would be crying." He looked at his sleeping familiar and a smile crossed his face, remembering those days. "Wait here. I'll take him upstairs and be back down."

Jade nodded. Mozenrath took Xerxes upstairs and soon returned. He kissed Jade softly then sat down at the organ. He sang a variety of different songs for her, some of his own and others not. As he played, an idea came to his head. He stopped.

"What is it?" Jade asked, noticing his thoughtful expression. Mozenrath looked at her and smiled brightly. Then he stood up and went over to his desk and pulled out some blank sheet music. He sat down and began writing a new score. Jade came over and watched over his shoulder. She was amazed at how quickly the notes came to him. He soon finished the music and went back to the organ to test it out. It sounded beautiful. "How did you come up with that so fast?" Jade asked in wonderment.

"Just the inspiration of your presence, my dear," Mozenrath said, sweetly. It was the truth. Jade blushed. "Perhaps you can help me write the words for it."

"I'm not that talented," Jade said.

"It's not that difficult," Mozenrath said. "Just let the words come from your heart, not your head. Like this…"

_No more talk of darkness_

_Forget these wide-eyed fears_

_I'm here – nothing can harm you_

_My words will warm and calm you_

_Let me be your freedom_

_Let daylight dry your tears_

_I'm here – with you, beside you_

_To guard you and to guide you_

Jade gave it a try and was surprised how freely the words flowed out.

_Say you love me every waking moment_

_Turn my head with talk of summer time_

_Say you need me with you now and always_

_Promise me that all you say is true –_

_That's all I ask of you…_

Mozenrath continued.

_Let me be your shelter_

_Let me be your light_

_You're safe – No one will find you_

_Your fears are far behind you_

(Jade)

_All I want is freedom –_

_A world with no more night_

_And you – always beside me_

_To hold me and to hide me_

(Mozenrath)

_Then say you'll share with me one love, one life time_

_Let me lead you from your solitude_

_Say you need me with you – here beside you_

_Anywhere you go, let me go, too_

_Princess, that's all I ask of you…_

(Jade)

_Say you'll share with me one love, one life time_

_Say the word and I will follow you_

(Both)

_Share each day with me_

_Each night each morning_

(Jade)

_Say you love me…_

(Mozenrath)

_You know I do…_

(Both)

_Love me – that's all I ask of you…_

_Anywhere you go, let me go, too_

_Love me –_

_That's all I ask of you…_

Mozenrath smiled at her. "And you said you didn't have the talent." Jade blushed. Mozenrath reached up and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her down to sit upon his lap. They kissed softly and Jade laid her head down on his shoulder. The sorcerer rested his head against hers and the two sat there in silence, their arms around each other.


	16. No One Would Listen

Sorry it took so long to update. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I do appreciate it. Well here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 18 "No One Would Listen"

Jade awoke early one morning to find that Mozenrath was gone. She sat up on the bed and looked around the room, looking to see where he had disappeared to. She got up and dressed and went out to look for him. She found him in the green house, checking on the Haoman plant. Xerxes hovered nearby and was the first to notice her. He was about to say something, but Jade held up a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet. Xerxes immediately closed his mouth. Jade walked up, quietly, behind Mozenrath and slowly slid her arms around his waist. She felt Mozenrath jump and she and Xerxes laughed at him.

Mozenrath turned and glared at her.

"Don't ever do that again," he playfully scolded her, pointing his skeletal index finger at her.

Jade merely smiled and kissed his finger. Then, taking his skeletal hand in hers, she kissed the bones and rubbed her palm over the back of his hand. Mozenrath laid his bony palm against her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"I love you," she said softly. Mozenrath smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "You seem happy this morning," she noticed.

The wizard nodded. "The Haoman plant is ready." Without another word, he set to work on making the potion that would restore his power.

Jade and Xerxes stayed out of his way, not wanting to disturb him. They went out to the oasis, per Mozenrath's suggestion, to pass the time. As they wandered around, Xerxes noticed that Jade seemed worried about something.

"What wrong?" the eel asked.

Jade said nothing for a moment. She looked up at him. "Xerxes… do think that… that once Mozenrath gets his powers back, that he'll go back to his old ways?"

"Wonder if Master will change?" Xerxes asked.

Jade nodded. "You know him better than I do. I've only known him a few months. You've known him your whole life; he raised you."

"Xerxes don't know. Master unpredictable. Just have to wait and see."

Mozenrath carefully added the next ingredient to the potion. A flash of red light and a puff of smoke exploded from the cauldron as a soft bang sounded. He let out a nervous breath. He went over to the Haoman plant and plucked off thirteen leaves. He went back to the cauldron and dumped the leaves into the concoction, stirred them in and picked up the final vial to be added. Steadily, the necromancer poured the strangely colored fluid into the potion. The potion bubbled and the cauldron shook. Mozenrath backed away immediately.

Another loud bang and a cloud of smoke burst from the cauldron and a flash of green light filled the room. Mozenrath crouched to the floor and shielded his face with his black cloak. After a moment, he cautiously made his way back to the cauldron. He peered in as the potion simmered down.

Picking up a goblet, he dipped it into the cauldron and filled it. He took a deep breath and sighed. Closing his eyes, he drank the potion until the goblet was empty. Once drained, the goblet fell to the floor as Mozenrath grasped his burning throat and gasped for air. Pain shot throughout his body and he fell to his knees, groaning and growling.

Jade and Xerxes heard the explosion and saw the green light flash in the lab. They raced back to the Citadel, calling for Mozenrath. They ran into several of the mamluks as the undead guards rushed to assist their master.

They all reached the lab and forced the door open. They saw Mozenrath surrounded by a bright green light and struggling to remain standing. Jade could see the pain in his expression. As soon as the light died away, he collapsed and Jade rushed over to him, catching him before he hit the floor. She sank to her knees, cradling him to her chest.

"Mozenrath? Are you alright?" she asked frantically.

"Yes," Mozenrath sighed. He moaned softly and sat up. "I'm fine." He looked at the gauntlet on his hand. He clenched his hand into a fist and concentrated. A familiar black and blue light surrounded the glove. Mozenrath looked up at Jade with his arrogant smirk. With a snap of his fingers, the Citadel was restored to its original, sinister grandeur. "Well… I guess the potion worked."

Jade merely smiled and threw her arms around him. Mozenrath returned the embrace and then stood, extending his hand to help her up. Mozenrath sent the mamluks back to their posts and he, Jade, and Xerxes went around the Citadel, seeing that everything was back to the way it should have been.

"Now that I have my power back, I can proceed with my plans," Mozenrath said.

Jade looked at him. "What plans?"

"Why, taking over the seven deserts, of course."

"Except Agrabah."

"Pardon?"

"You swore that you would leave Agrabah alone when I agreed to be your slave, remember?"

"And your point would be? You're not my slave anymore are you?"

"That's up to you," Jade said, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"No, you're not. Therefore, I no longer have to abide by that agreement."

Jade was speechless, as was Xerxes, whose mouth was hanging open slightly, shocked by his master's words. Mozenrath was reverting back to the power hungry wizard he was when he and Jade first met.

Jade finally managed to speak. "Mozenrath… what of your promise to protect me and make me happy? You promised me that when you told me you loved me."

"Jade…" Mozenrath sighed. "Some promises cannot be kept." Jade gasped. "I have relieved you of your obligations here. You're free to leave whenever you wish."

"So that's it, then?" Jade asked, tears falling from her eyes. "You have your power back now and you're getting rid of me? I thought you loved me." Mozenrath said nothing. "Was that a lie?"

"You're trying my patience, princess."

"Mozenrath… what's happened to you?"

Mozenrath said nothing. He just glared at her, as though she were some pitiful wretch begging for the life that he would soon take away. He turned, starting to walk away from her. Before he could go very far, she grabbed his arm. That was it for him. He yanked his arm from her grasp and let the back of his gloved hand fly across her cheek, sending her to the floor.

Jade hit the hard marble beneath her, bruising her arm as she tried to break her fall. She raised a hand to her burning cheek, wincing at the slightest touch. He had burned her when the glove connected with her face. She looked up at the necromancer, tears stinging her eyes. The look on his face was one of confused disbelief. He took a slow step towards her, reaching out a gentle hand, his expression apologetic. Tears streaming down her face, Jade took off down the corridor, not looking back.

"Jade, wait!" Mozenrath called after her. He looked at Xerxes, who just glared at him, bared his jagged teeth and growled, before flying off after Jade. Mozenrath merely stood there. "What have I done?"

Jade ran out to the stables where her cream-colored mare was pacing about in its stall. She threw open the door and brought her out. She only bothered with putting the bridle and climbed onto the animal's bare back.

Xerxes came zipping around the corner as she started out.

"Where Princess going?" he asked.

"I'm leaving, Xerxes. I can't stay here another minute if he's going to be this way." Kicking her horse's sides, she raced off across the desert, not looking back.

Mozenrath saw her leave from the balcony of the throne room. He wanted to go after her but wasn't sure if he should. She obviously didn't want to be anywhere near him now, but he didn't want to loose her forever.

'_Why do these things always happen to me?_' he thought. With a cry of anguish, he turned and left the throne room. He made his way down to the oasis, trying to clear his head.

"Master?" He turned. Xerxes had followed him out here. "Why Master chase away Princess?"

"I don't know!" Mozenrath snapped, sounding harsher than he meant. "I'm sorry, Xerxes. I'm just confused. I… Once again I've lost someone I love. Maybe I'm just not meant to be happy."

He walked to the bank of the lake and crouched down on the water's edge. He gazed into the water at his reflection. He dragged his hand across the surface of the water, distorting his image. He slowly raised his head to look blankly across the lake.

"_No one would listen _

_No one but her   
Heard as the outcast hears…_

Shamed into solitude   
Shunned by the multitude  
I learned to listen  
In my dark, my heart heard music"

Mozenrath stood and walked around the lake staring at the ground as he thought. He apparated to his music room back at the Citadel and stared at the scores and books strewn about the room. _  
"I longed to teach the world  
Rise up and reach the world  
No one would listen  
I alone could hear the music…"  
_

He looked at the drawings he had hanging on the walls. They were all beautiful sketches and paintings of Jade, some of which he did before realizing he'd fallen in love with her.__

"Then at last, a voice in the gloom  
Seemed to cry "I hear you;  
I hear your fears,   
Your torment and your tears"…

She saw my loneliness   
Shared in my emptiness  
No one would listen  
No one but her   
Heard as the outcast hears…"

He sat himself down at the drafting table and stared blankly at the wall. He leaned forward and folded his hands together, as though in prayer. Resting his elbows on his knees, he set his chin atop hands and cast his eyes to the floor off to his side.__

"No one would listen…  
No one but her…  
Heard as the outcast hears..."


	17. Unexpected Guests

Forgot to mention something in the previous chappie: the song "No One Would Listen" came from Andrew Lloyd Webber's _The Phantom of the Opera_. It was a deleted song from the new movie. Why they cut it, I don't know. I thought it was a really nice scene… mostly because it was all Gerry Butler… But that's beside the point!

Uh… Yeah, story… umm… Enjoy!

Chapter 19 "Unexpected Guests"

Xerxes swam over to his master and hovered above his shoulder. He could see the tears streaming down the sorcerer's face. He nudged his snout against Mozenrath's cheek.

"Just leave me alone, Xerxes. Please?" Mozenrath said.

Xerxes gave him a apologetic look and left the chamber.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Jade raced across the desert at full speed. Looking ahead, she could see the palace of Agrabah rising up over the sand dunes. She was nearly there. She realized by know that Mozenrath wasn't coming after her and knew that she had to make up some kind of excuse for that.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"I still can't believe that Jade went back with him," Aladdin said, falling back onto one of the large plush cushions on his room.

Genie and Carpet were engrossed in yet another one of their board games – which Genie was loosing – while Abu and Iago fought over some fruit in the fruit bowl. Jasmine sat down next to Aladdin and brushed his hair back out of his eyes.

"There's nothing that can be done about it, Aladdin," she said solemnly. "Jade felt that she had to go back with him. He saved her life and she had to repay him."

"I know…" Aladdin sighed. "I just wish that there was something I could do about it."

"So do I… but it was her decision. She's always been that way."

"I have been known to make the wrong choice you know."

They turned. There stood Jade in the doorway. She was covered in sand and sweat, her hair was slightly disheveled and a large bruise could be seen forming on her cheek.

Jasmine ran to her and embraced her. "Jade, what happened? Did Mozenrath do this to you?"

She nodded. "It's a long story, but basically he let me go."

"You're kiddin' right?" Genie asked. "Mozen-rotten actually set you free."

Jade nodded. "I really don't want to get into the details now." _I need time to think them up_.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up." Jasmine led her to her chambers and left her to take a bath.

Jade sat in the water for long while, thinking over what had happened with Mozenrath. _ He must not really love me like he said. He would have come after me if he did… Maybe he was just as frightened and confused as I was. Maybe he will come for me after a while. No! He's probably forgotten all about me…_ She put her head in her hands as she tried to sort out her thoughts.

She got out of the tub and dried herself off. She dressed in the clean clothing that Jasmine had left out for her and went out into her room and sat on the bed. She lay down and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

She awoke several hours later. Getting up, she wrapped one of the blankets around her shoulders and walked out onto the balcony. The desert air was cool this night and she pulled the blanket tighter. She gazed up at the stars. Only a few nights ago she was standing out on the balcony with Mozenrath, his arms wrapped around her as she leaned back into his chest, listening to his heart beat. She could hear his beautiful voice singing softly to her a small vow …

"_You are the one_

_All I need…_

_I will follow where you lead._

_You are the one _

_Never fear_

_I'll be waiting, I'll be here._

_All of the others make demands_

_I have a soul that understands…_

_You are the one_

_You are free…_

_All that I wish for you to be_

_Is with me…"_

Jade looked back out over the desert, towards the Land of the Black Sand. What was young sorcerer doing right now? Planning his conquest of the seven deserts, no doubt.

"Jade? Are you alright?" Jade turned to see Jasmine walk up beside her.

"I'm fine… I think. I'm just trying to think. I'm just having a rough time right now."

"Want to talk about it?"

"I don't know. I'm just confused. It's one of those things where you want to tell someone what's troubling you, but you can't make yourself do it."

"I know the feeling. Do you want to try?"

"I don't know if I can. I… it's just something I don't think I can explain…" Jade fell silent for a moment. Then she started singing softly with a voice that Jasmine never knew her friend possessed.

"_There is something out there_

_There is always something more…_

_Something that promises better days_

_Than any I had known before._

_There is something out there_

_With a voice that keeps calling me on…_

_I live in fear that I'll wake one day_

_And that heavenly voice will be gone._

_A voice that promised to help me_

_Was the light I kept moving toward_

_He summoned the Spirit of Music in me_

_And became my master and lord._

_A master disguised as a servant_

_Who took much more than he gave_

_A gift… not a gift! With a price on its head!_

_I've no master, I'll be no slave!"_

"**_You are the one… you are free… you are the one… stay with me…"_** Mozenrath echoed in her mind.

"_Now there's someone out there_

_And it's someone that I know…_

_Someone who's frightened of loosing me_

_But was brave enough to let me go…_

_There is someone out there_

_I can see his face in the dawn…_

_And his eyes see the girl I was meant to be…_

_And his courage is saying, 'Go on'…"_

Jasmine looked at her with sympathy. She took her friend's arm. "Come back inside. Do you want to come with me? I'm going to hang out with the guys for a while."

"No thanks, Jazz. I think I'll just go back to sleep. I'm really tired."

Jasmine nodded and left Jade alone. Jade sat back down on the bed, pulling the blanket tighter around her. She lay back against the cool pillows and looked up at the ceiling. She fell back to sleep, imagining that it was Mozenrath holding her tightly.

Jade awoke late the following morning, a feeling of nausea churning her stomach. "_Not again_," she thought, still groggy from sleep. She had been feeling this way for a while, but she never told Mozenrath; she didn't want him to worry.

Hearing a knock on the door, she called out for the person to enter.

"Rise and shine, Jade," Jasmine said, cheerfully. "The guys and I are going to the market place, do you want to go?" It then she saw her friend clutching her stomach with a tight grip. "Jade? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I'm not feeling too well, Jazz."

"How long haven't you been feeling well?" Jasmine walked over to the side of the bed and felt Jade's forehead. She felt a little warm.

"A while now."

"Stay here. I'll send someone to get the doctor."

The others were waiting in the throne room for Jasmine. When she came in, she was alone.

"Jade not coming?" Aladdin asked.

"We may have to put off going to the market place, guys. Jade isn't feeling to well."

"What wrong with her?" the sultan asked.

"I don't know. I sent one of the guards to get the doctor. They should be back soon."

In no time at all, the guard returned with the doctor and Jasmine took him up to Jade. Outside the door the doctor turned to Jasmine.

"I'm sorry, Princess Jasmine. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait out here." Jasmine nodded and the doctor entered the room alone, closing the door behind him. "Princess Jade? I'm doctor Behan. Princess Jasmine said you weren't feeling too well." Jade nodded in agreement. The came over to the bed and sat down. "She mentioned that you have stomach pains. How long have you had them?"

"On and off for about three months."

The doctor nodded, deep in thought. He felt around on her stomach, pressing lightly. "Princess… when was the last time you had your monthly cycle?"

Jade thought and found she couldn't remember. "I don't know. A couple of months ago, I guess."

The merely smiled. "As I thought. Princess Jade… you're pregnant."

Jade's eyes went wide and her hands went to her stomach. "Please don't tell anyone, not even the princess and the sultan. I'll tell them when I'm ready. Just make something up if they ask."

"As you wish, Princess. Now, get some rest."

With that, the doctor got up and left the room.

"Is she alright?" Jasmine asked.

"She'll be fine. Most likely just a stomach bug. I gave her something for the pain, but she should recover."

"Thank you, doctor," the sultan said. He had one of the servants escort the doctor from the palace.

Jade lay on her side, arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Now what was she going to do? She was carrying the love child of her friends' greatest enemy! She couldn't hide it from them; she would start showing within a few months and they would know who the father is. She could only hope that they would understand. But they would never let her go back to Mozenrath, and she couldn't keep his child from him. He would want it so he would have an heir.

The door opening brought her out of her thoughts. Jasmine and the sultan came in.

"How are you feeling, Jade?" Jasmine asked.

"I've been better…" Jade mumbled. "I just need to sleep."

"If you need anything, just let us know," the sultan said.

Jade gave them a small smile and nodded. As they turned to leave, Jasmine remembered something. "If you're feeling better, there's going to be a party tomorrow evening."

"What's the occasion?" Jade asked.

"Just an impromptu event. It's a masked ball, if you're interested."

"Alright. Hopefully I'll be feeling well enough to join in for a couple of hours."

The sultan and the princess left the room and Jade fell into a troubled sleep.

Mozenrath had done nothing but sulk around his palace for the past two days. He wouldn't eat and couldn't sleep.

Xerxes was growing worried about his young master. Late the night before he had seen Mozenrath pick up a dagger and stare at it a while. Xerxes had to bite Mozenrath's hand to get him to drop it and then he flew off with the weapon between his teeth to hide it before Mozenrath tried anything to hurt himself.

The eel flew into the study to find Mozenrath sitting in the chair next to the fireplace. His face was buried in his hands and he was crying. The little familiar went over to him and nudged him a little. Mozenrath looked up at him and Xerxes gave him a silly grin, trying to cheer him up. Mozenrath just leaned back in the chair. Xerxes face dropped. Then he brightened with another idea. He flew over to a corner of the room and came back with a little green ball in his teeth. Mozenrath would toss the ball at Xerxes to keep him busy and out of his hair for a while. And sometimes just to annoy him, Xerxes would bring it back.

Xerxes tossed the ball up in the air and caught it on his nose, keeping it balanced there. He looked at Mozenrath, cross-eyed, and saw that he still wasn't smiling. He tried a few more tricks to get the man to at least smirk, but to no avail. He dropped the ball and frowned. Xerxes swam out of the room and up to Mozenrath's bedchamber. He curled up on his little bed and sighed. He lay there a while trying to think up a way to cheer his master up. Knowing Jade was alright might help… That was it! He would go to Agrabah and see Jade. He flew over to Mozenrath's desk and picked up a pen in his fin and scrawled out a short message for his master. He took it down to the study, where Mozenrath was now asleep in the chair. He left the note on the sorcerer's lap and set out across the desert.

Mozenrath awoke a short time later and found the note. He picked it up and read the jumbled writing:

**Master,**

**Xerxes go see Mistress. Back later.**

Mozenrath actually smiled and waited for Xerxes to return.

Xerxes didn't come back until sunrise.

"How was she?" Mozenrath asked.

"Princess fine. Tired, but okay," Xerxes reported.

"Good. Maybe now I can get some sleep. Thank you, Xerxes. Xerxes?" Xerxes was passed out on the floor, snoring loudly. Mozenrath couldn't help himself and laughed.

The songs in this chapter were from a musical version of The Phantom of the Opera starring David Staller.


	18. The Point of No Return

Chapter 20 "The Point of No Return"

The masked ball was to be that night. Jade was excited, yet she still felt terrible about leaving Mozenrath. Especially now that she knew she carried his child and he didn't know. After tonight, she would return to him and make things right. She hoped he would still have her. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him forever.

Oh, why did she have to confront him? Why did she leave? She couldn't believe what she had said to him. Then he struck her in anger, showing his power over her. He hadn't done that for a long time.

She began to cry softly as she thought of the words they exchanged in anger. Then she saw the look on his face after he had struck her to the floor. It was an apologetic look, a confused look. She didn't wait for him to say anything and ran, afraid for her life. And he didn't come after her. That's what hurt the most. He didn't come after her.

"Jade?" Jasmine called. "Jade are you in there?"

Jade straightened up and wiped away the tears. "Yes, Jasmine. Come in."

Jasmine entered. She was already dressed in her costume for the party: her favorite purple dress, her mask in hand. "Are you ready?"

Jade nodded. "Just let me get my mask." She walked over to her nightstand and picked up her mask. It was black and studded with red and amber gems.

"Where did you get that dress?" Jasmine asked. She had never seen it before.

Jade looked at her dress. "Oh, it was a gift from a while back." In truth, it was. It was a simple red dress with straps that fell off of her shoulders and a gold waistband. The top was low cut and showed ample cleavage. It had been a present from Mozenrath.

"You look beautiful, Jade," Jasmine said. "Come on. Let's go join the others."

The two princesses left the room, unaware that they were being spied on.

xxxxxxxx

Xerxes zipped into the throne room. Mozenrath sat on his throne waiting for his familiar to return.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Mistress fine," Xerxes replied. "Going to party tonight."

"A party? What kind of party?"

"Costume."

"A costume party, eh?" Mozenrath thought for a moment. An idea came to him. "That's it!"

"What it?" Xerxes croaked.

"Come with me, Xerxes."

Mozenrath stood and left the room, Xerxes close behind. He went up to his bed chamber and began searching through his wardrobe and chests until he found what he was looking for. "Xerxes, I'm going to that party." He would find Jade and apologize to her, even if he had to do so publicly.

"Xerxes come?"

"No. You will stay here." He had to go alone. He couldn't risk bringing the familiar. He went and changed into his costume. '_Please let her want me._'

xxxxxxxxx

"Now this is a party!" Genie declared.

The masquerade had begun. Guests of high class from Agrabah and friendly kingdoms had arrived in a wide variety of elegant costumes.

"Jade? Are you okay?" Aladdin asked.

Jade turned and faced the young man. He was wearing his long purple coat with the white shoulders, white pants, goldenrod boots, and gold and red sash. A simple mask covered his eyes.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all."

He was about to say something, when they heard guests beginning to sing to the music. It had soon become a contest. A variety of songs were sung. Genie joined in on the fun and sang "Friend Like Me." Aladdin and Jasmine then came up and sang "A Whole New World." Jade watched them and thought about all the times she and Mozenrath sang together. She wished he was here, but she knew he wouldn't dare come here, for fear of being caught. 'Or would he?'

The applause died away as another, unfamiliar, song began to play. The air seemed to be playing it. It was a haunting, yet seductive tune, filled with passion. Everyone's head turned in the same direction. Standing at the entrance to the balcony was a young man. He was dressed in red pants, a red waistcoat, and a red cape that dragged behind him on the floor. He wore black boots, black gloves, a black belt hung at his waist on which rested a sword with a silver, skull-shaped hilt. His black hair hung in wavy curls down to his shoulders. And his mask covered the entire top portion of his face and stopped right above his top lip. Inside the eyeholes, they could see he had painted that area black. The design of the mask itself was a skull. It was Red Death, here at their door. The young man had an air of mystery about him. As he slowly walked to the center of the room, he began to sing a beautiful, haunting voice…

"_You have come here_

_In pursuit of your deepest urge_

_In pursuit of that wish which 'til now has been silent_

_Silent…_

_I have brought you_

_That our passions may fuse and merge_

_In your mind you've already succumbed to me_

_Dropped all defenses_

_Completely succumbed to me_

_Now you are here with me_

_No second thoughts_

_You've decided_

_Decided…"_

During this time in which he was singing he was looking directly at Jade, who felt her heart leap into her throat.

"_Past the point of no return – _

_No backward glances:_

_Our games of make-believe are at an end…_

_Past all thought of "If" or "When"_

_No use resisting:_

_Abandon thought and let the dream descend…_

_What raging fire shall flood the soul?_

_What rich desire unlocks its door?_

_What sweet seduction lies before us…?_

_Past the point of no return,_

_The final threshold – _

_What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn_

_Beyond the point of no return?"_

Jade knew this voice. It mesmerized her and she began to slowly walk towards Red Death and echoed his tune in her own words…

"_You have brought me_

_To that moment when words run dry_

_To that moment when speech disappears into silence_

_Silence…_

_I have come here_

_Hardly knowing the reason why…_

_In my mind I've already imagined_

_Our bodies entwining_

_Defenseless and silent – _

_Now I am here with you:_

_No second thoughts_

_I've decided_

_Decided…"_

Everyone watched the young princess move towards this stranger, captivated by the scene before them.

"_Past the point of no return_

_No going back now_

_Our passion-play has now at last begun…_

_Past all thought of "Right" or "Wrong"_

_One final question:_

_How long should we to wait before we're one…?_

_When will the blood begin to race?_

_The sleeping bud burst into bloom?_

_When will the flames, at last, consume us?"_

The two walked towards each other, now at the very center of the giant crowd that had formed around them. They sang the final verse triumphantly in unison.

"_Past the point of no return_

_The final threshold – "_

They grasped each other's waists, then Red Death spun her around, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. His hands over hers, and her head resting back against his shoulder, he caressed the front of her body, sliding their right hands up over her heaving breasts to rest at the base of her throat.

"_The bridge is crossed_

_So stand and watch it burn!…_

_We've passed the point of no return…"_

Everyone was speechless and continued to look on as the music changed to another, more gentle song. A song that Jade knew very well. She turned and looked into the eyes of her masked partner. His eyes were pleading as he sang…

"Say you'll share with me one love, one life time… 

_Lead me, save me from my solitude…_

_Say you want me with you, here beside you…"_

He then raised his voice for all to hear his plea…

"Anywhere you go, let me go, too…! PRINCESS! THAT'S ALL I ASK OF YOU!…" 

By now, Jade had tears streaming down her face. She reached up with her right hand to stroke Red Death's masked face. Their faces were so close now, everyone in the audience was sure they were going to kiss. And they did. Jade guided Red Death's face down to hers and passionately kissed him full on the lips.

Aladdin and company felt their jaws drop. Who was this man? Where did he learn to sing so beautifully? And why in the world was Jade _kissing_ him!

Once the music died, Jade and Red Death broke their kiss. Jade pressed her face to his chest and sobbed quietly. Red Death held her tightly, knowing his own tears were falling.

"I love you, Jade," he whispered.

"I love you, too, my dark angel," she replied. "Please forgive me…"

"No," he said. "Forgive _me_. It was I who drove you away."

Jade looked up into his eyes and kissed him once more. They broke apart when they heard the crowd applauding. They were so lost in each other's presence, they had forgotten that there were others around. Red Death straightened up as Jade wiped her tears away. They smiled at each other, sheepishly.

Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie and the sultan came up to them.

"Jade? Who is this man?" Jasmine asked.

"A very good friend, Jazz," Jade replied, smiling up at Red Death. He smiled back and took her hand in his.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Aladdin asked the stranger.

Red Death just glared at him. The skull mask and black paint beneath the eyeholes made the look very intimidating. "I'm not in the habit of giving out my name so freely, sir," he said. Aladdin and the others did a double take. His speaking voice sounded a bit higher than his singing voice. And this voice sounded familiar. Red Death turned to Jade. "Jade? May I speak with you alone?"

"Sure," Jade said. "Excuse us, everyone." She him past the others and out of the throne room, all eyes following them. She took him up her bedroom and closed the door. When she turned to him, he had taken his mask off and used a piece of cloth to wipe away the black paint around his eyes. "Mozenrath…" She fell into his arms and sobbed.

Mozenrath held her tightly and walked her over to the bed. They sat down and clung to each other, crying. Mozenrath regained enough composure to speak to her.

"Jade… I'm so sorry," he said. "I never meant to drive you away. I don't know why I hit you… Please forgive me."

Jade took his face in her hands. "I'll forgive you on one condition." Mozenrath looked at her, eager to do anything she wished. "You forgive me and take me home with you." She smiled and added, "Otherwise, you can forget it."

Mozenrath laughed softly. "As you wish," he said softly. "I forgive you." He leaned in and kissed her passionately. She returned it, and moaned softly as the passion grew between them. They broke the kiss after several long moments to catch their breath. "I love you, Jade."

"I love you, too, Mozenrath. Can we go home?"

Mozenrath smiled. He grabbed up his mask and wrapped his arms around Jade. In a flash of light they were gone.

Jasmine and Aladdin came up to her room after the party was over. They hadn't seen any sign of her or Red Death for the rest of the night. They knocked on her door several times. When she didn't answer, they opened the door. No one was in the room. Jasmine noticed a piece of paper on the bed and walked over. She picked it up and read.

_Jasmine and Aladdin,_

_I'm sorry I missed the rest of the party. I'm going to be gone for a long while. Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. I've gone in the company of Red Death, who promises he'll take very good care of me. Again, don't worry. He is a very good friend and I trust him with my life. I hope to see you again real soon. Say good bye to the others for me and tell them thank you for everything. And thank you to you guys, too._

_Love,_

_Jade_

The note was definitely in Jade's handwriting, so they knew she had gone willingly.

"I still want to know who Red Death was," Jasmine said. "His voice was so familiar."

"I know," Aladdin said. His eyes narrowed slightly. "And I didn't like it when I heard it." Jasmine nodded in agreement. As they fought to place the voice, one name popped into their heads at the same time. They looked at each other quickly, in complete shock.

"Mozenrath!"

xxxxxxx

The Point of No Return © Andrew Lloyd Webber's _The Phantom of the Opera_


	19. Letter From the Author

Hello everyone!

Thank you to all who have been reading and reviewing The Princess and the Sorcerer. I'm glad to hear that it's still being read after so long.

Well, because of the reviews, emails, and notes on Deviant Art that I have been receiving about, I've decided to go back and start writing it again. I've been struck with some inspiration (thanks to all of you) and I hope to have some new material written.

I'm going to start out, first by rewriting the old chapters. As I went back threw and reread the story last night, I realized that some of my ideas for new chapters don't follow the current flow of the plot. So some things will be entirely re-written, and others just cleaned up a bit. If all goes well I can have a re-write of chapter 1 up at the end of next week.

Please keep in mind though, all, that I have other obligations and projects on my plate. But, I will do my best to keep this story going. I would like nothing more than to be able to finish it.

Thanks again to all of you for your support on this story.

- Shadow


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